


Flourishing Cherry Blossoms

by Deathmanstratos



Series: Tales of Flowers [3]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Did I Mention Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deathmanstratos/pseuds/Deathmanstratos
Summary: After claiming the World Stage, Ren Amamiya and Sumire Amamiya turn their sights on becoming champions of the home as they raise their family.This story is a direct continuation of Lotus, Violet, and Cherry Blossoms.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Kurusu Akira/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Sakamoto Ryuji/Original Female Character(s), Sakura Futaba/Original Character(s)
Series: Tales of Flowers [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057388
Comments: 60
Kudos: 52





	1. What's Important To Me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will not be written at the same breakneck speed as LCVB, but it is something I will enjoy writing regardless. Of course, you should read that first, since this basically picks up where it left off.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki Amamiya is tasked with finding out what's important to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: The chapters of the Epilogue changed to March. So this is right before middle school starts.
> 
> I'm back...

_March 13th, 2037_

“For your final project, you will be required to write a short essay on something that is important to you.”

Half of Yuki’s class yawned as their short, sweet, but stern teacher spoke over them. She wore her hair in a tight bun, a hint of excitement in her voice as she poke. Yuki’s ears perked up as she typed out everything her teacher stated. It was the last Monday of the school year. At least, elementary school. Middle School started in April, and there were a few things Yuki wanted to do before then. The first priority was to survive the final tests. Second, talk to Kaiki. Third, graduate. 

“Excuse me, Ushimaru-sensei?” Yuki raised her hand while she tapped her fingers next to her school laptop.

“What is it, Amamiya-san?” 

“How long does this essay need to be?”

“For you lot? 200 words.”

“Is that a minimum or maximum?”

“Minimum. Why? Are you planning to write a master’s thesis?”

Several students hid their laughter as Yuki bowed her head and looked straight down at her lap, where Morgana poked his head out.

“No…”

“Hmph. Any other questions?” Ushimaru diverted her attention back to the other students. “Quit laughing. At least Amamiya-san will finish the project.”

“You okay, Yuki?” Morgana whispered as he looked up at her. He already knew that she wasn’t, given her light sniffles. She lightly shook her head.

“Don’t worry about these other clowns. After you go to middle school, you won’t see most of them again!”

“Mhm…” Yuki sighed and looked back up, only for Ushimaru to dismiss the class. Upon exiting, Yuki sulked her head and quickly darted for the exit.

“Watch ou-!”

With a solid thud, Yuki fell backward and landed on her bottom. Upon blinking, she realized she couldn’t make out anything around her. 

“Are you okay, Yuki-tan?”

“K-Kenichi-kun?” Yuki looked at the source of the voice and managed to make out Kenichi’s features as he leaned in toward her.

“Watch where you’re going, silly.”

Kenich slipped Yuki’s glasses back onto her face, with his fingers brushing against her hair as his smile came into her sight. “Did something happen?”

“U-Uh-UH-” Yuki felt her cheeks flare up red as he stared at her, barely a foot away from her face. “S-So close…”

“Here.” Kenichi stood back up and held out his hand.

“Here?” Yuki looked up at him, completely befuddled.

“My hand. Take it.”

…

…

…

…

…

“Yuki-tan?”

There were few times Yuki’s mind wasn’t working at the speed of light to process everything that was going on. Most of the time, she was lightning quick on the response when it came to learning and responding to teachers. That was easy.

Talking to people, let alone _Kenichi?_ _The boy she likes?_

Her brain couldn’t take it. 

A deep blush crept up across Yuki’s face as she slowly raised her hand. Kenichi laughed and picked her up.

“Earth to Yuki-tan…”

“Ah… Um… Thank you…”

“You still haven’t told me what’s up.” Kenichi grinned.

“Oh…” 

Yuki’s whole body slumped.

“I just… I can’t say anything in class without getting laughed at. Why do I get made fun of for wanting to learn?”

“People will come up with any reason to be mean to others. They just wanna feel better about themselves.”

“D-Do you feel the same way, Kenichi-kun?” Yuki looked him in the eyes for barely a second before looking away.

“Of course I don’t.” He shook his head. “Didn’t we just talk yesterday? How are you going to talk to that jackass Kaiki if you’re like this?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry. I know it’s not that easy to just… start being different. Futaba told me she ended up in a rough patch for a long time before she got better and started to change. I’m here for you though, okay? I have been since we met.”

“Thank you…”

Yuki stood silent for another minute with Kenichi before realizing she had been holding his hand the entire time. 

“Ah-”

“So what do you plan to do?” Kenichi crossed his arms as she gently slid her hand from his grip. 

“I still want to talk to Kaiki-san… I want to before we move on to middle school.” Yuki fidgeted nervously while trying to maintain a composure of determination. What she wanted to do and actually did were totally different. Her indecisiveness to act in social situations was the bane of her existence, and she knew it.

“Why can’t I be more like dad and mom?”

That thought crossed her mind every day. Why was she different? How was she so smart, but so stupid? Why were kids still like this? Why was being a _wunderkind_ a curse?

“That would be for the best.” Kenichi nodded and sighed. “We have to work on our final projects first though, don’t we?”

“Mhm.” Yuki felt herself faintly smile as she looked up at Kenichi, whose gentle, hazel orbs both calmed her down and made her heart want to explode. “What was your final project?”

“Write about an important event that happened.”

“So we all got the same assignment, then…” 

“I bet I know what it is!” Morgana snickered from inside the bag.

“What’s he saying?” Kenichi tilted his head. “Or is he just meowing?”

“Mona thinks he knows what that important event is.”

“Hmmm… Honestly, it is pretty obvious.”

“Right. It’s when Futaba-obasan and Hanako-obasan adopted you!”

Yuki gave him a wide smile, her eyes sparkling as she spoke.

“Nuh-uh! It’s when he met you!” Morgana laughed.

…

…

Yuki felt herself start to blush as she waited for Kenichi.

“I’m guessing your answer is different from Morgana’s?” 

“Y-Yes. He thinks i-it’s when you met me…”

“Ah.” Kenichi turned his head slightly, a light tint of pink across his cheeks. “Well… It is.”

“Oh…”

Yuki wanted to explode. Her heart wanted to burst from her chest. Everything that she was, was currently imploding.

“T-Thank you, Kenichi-kun… Meeting you was important to me, too.”

“Getting adopted by the best moms in the world _is_ a close second.” Kenichi turned and started to walk down the hallway. “We should get going, right?”

“Y-Yes.”

With a slight skip in her step, Yuki walked with Kenichi to the train station and went their separate ways.

* * *

As Yuki stepped up to her front door, a brief, blue shimmer encompassed her face.

“Biometric ID Recognized. Welcome home, Yuki.”

Yuki heard the click of the deadbolt and lock as the door slightly opened. Pushing her way inside, she put on her home shoes and walked into the kitchen. Morgana hopped out of her bag and followed her as she walked. 

“I’ll never get over how crazy some tech has some in the last couple of years. Back around the time Kasumi and Akira were born, we started to see face-scanning tech everywhere. Now we’ve got VR in the homes, and AR is getting bigger, too.” 

“What was it like before this?” Yuki looked at him curiously as she instinctively started to gather the ingredients for dinner. 

“Your dad just used to have a cell phone. I mean, phones still do a lot! They even project holograms now. They don’t take us to the Metaverse. Not anymore.”

“Mom thinks VR isn’t that great if you use it constantly. She really doesn’t like the idea of escaping reality.”

“Can you blame her?” Morgana brushed up against Yuki’s leg. “She thought she was your aunt for nearly a year, all because she didn’t want to be herself.”

“I don’t blame her.” Yuki shook her head. “She’s only told me the full story once, and I’m not talking about the first time. It took me a long time to understand, but now that we have things like VR, I think it’s easier to process.”

“VR, AR… It’s all crazy. It reminds me of the Metaverse in a lot of ways. I mean, you’re in the same place, but it’s completely different!”

“A school that was a castle, a shack that was a museum, a city that was a vacuum for a flying bank… a corporate HQ that was a spaceship, a courtroom that was a casino, and a government building that was a ship!”

“That’s all of ‘em, mostly.”

“Mostly?” Yuki perked an eyebrow.

“Uh… Mementos! Mementos was the ultimate palace, remember!?”

“A subway system where all other palaces came from…”

“Yup!”

“I wonder if mom, dad or any of the others ever thought about recreating those… palaces in AR.”

“Could they do that?” Morgana wagged his tail.

“You can basically create any environment you want in an AR one. I’m not too sure how it works, but I bet Yusuke-ojisan could do it!”

“Hmmm… I feel like the palaces are better left in the past.”

“They were dangerous, weren’t they?”

“Very. It’s why Sumire doesn’t like to talk about them much.”

“Mom… Was it because of a palace she thought she was Kasumi-obsan once?”

“Sort of. You’d have to ask her and Ren about it sometime. They told you the story when you were little, right?”

“A little bit… I didn’t understand back then.”

“I’m betting you’re curious now.”

“I would be lying if I wasn’t…” 

Yuki took a deep breath, and after blinking, she noticed that she had completely finished dinner preparations. 

“I’ll think about asking her another time.”

“It’s very complicated, given the nature of it all. The answer won’t be easy to digest, so be ready.” Morgana nodded and looked at the finished meal. “In any cast, the way you can manage to hold a conversation while doing something else entirely still surprises me, Yuki.” 

“It surprises me, too…”

With some time to spare before her family got home, Yuki placed the food in a hot pot to sit and went to change into something more comfortable. While in her room, she opened her school laptop, and on that, a blank document, titled “What is Important To Me.”

“Yuki, we’re home!”

Sumire’s voice rang through the house.

“Onee-chan! Onee-chan!”

As Yuki made her way out of her room, Kasumi made her way in, bear-hugging Yuki along the way.

“Hi, Kasumi.”

“Onee-chan!” Kasumi’s bright, brown eyes sparkled as she hugged her sister. “How was school?”

“Um… It was okay. How about you?”

“We get to go on another field trip for the end of the year!” Kasumi nodded excitedly.

“Where to?” Yuki placed one hand against Kasumi’s back and another atop her head.

“Oo-weh-no!”

“Ueno?”

“Mhm!”

“That sounds fun!”

With a smile, Yuki spun Kasumi around and picked her up, piggyback style. She made her way out to the living room, where Sumire stood, patiently waiting.

“Hi mom!”

“Hello Yuki!” 

Yuki walked up to Sumire, who effortlessly picked Kasumi up off her back with one hand while wrapping her other arm around Yuki in a hug. 

“My two daughters…”

“My one mama!” Kasumi giggled. 

“Don’t forget about your one, favorite cat!” Morgana laughed and jumped up onto Yuki’s shoulders. 

“Of course, Morgana.”

“I made fish tonight, mom.” Yuki happily looked up at Sumire.

“I took a look, Yuki! It smells amazing!” Sumire returned a heart-melting, motherly smile. It was one of the few smiles that always made Yuki feel safe and comfortable, no matter what. There was more to it than that, but words couldn’t describe how much that smile meant to her.

“Aki staying late for practice again?” Kasumi looked around.

“He has a tournament coming up.” Sumire nodded. “He has to practice really hard, just like you!”

“Oh! Onee-chan!” Kasumi wriggled out of Sumire’s arms and landed on the floor. “I practiced today!”

“Did you learn anything new?”

“Uh-huh!” 

Kasumi’s eyes beamed with excitement as she stepped into the center of the living room. 

“Please be careful, Kasumi.”

“I know mama! Hanako-basan showed me!”

Yuki watched closely as Kasumi proceeded to lift her left leg behind the top of her head for a few seconds, and actually pull off half a pivot.

“Tada!”

“That’s amazing, Kasumi!” Yuki and Sumire clapped for her. “What was it, exactly?”

“A pivot.” Sumire calmly answered. “It’s a difficulty, and a fundamental part of any ribbon routine.”

“Ohh… Do you think you could still do it, mom?”

Sumire found herself giggling as she looked at Yuki and patted her head. 

“I’m afraid I’m far beyond that kind of movement. Having three children changed everything.”

“Do you ever miss it?”

“I do, but I accomplished what I wanted to do in rhythmic gymnastics. I’m more than happy as I am now.”

“Mom… I love you.”

“I love you too, Yuki.” Sumire bent down and embraced her eldest daughter. 

“I wanna hug too!” Kasumi squeezed between the two and proceeded to get squished.

“Jeez… Where’s Ren and Akira?” Morgana smiled as he watched. “We need to get another group hug in.”

“Did somebody call for me?” Ren grinned as he opened the front door, with Akira in tow. “Oh what a lovely sight… My wife and two daughters all hugging! Don’t you know how dangerous that is for my heart?”

“Hi mama, onee-chan, Sumi.” Akira poked his head in from behind Ren. 

“Hi Aki!” Yuki and Kasumi waved.

“Hi papa!

“Hi dad!”

“Welcome home!” Sumire released the group hug and walked up to the two with Yuki and Kasumi, quickly creating another one as they all hugged Ren and Akira. “Yuki made dinner!”

“You’re too good to us, Yuki!” Ren faked a sniffle and ruffled her hair. “Seriously. Thanks for cooking for us almost every night.”

“No problem, dad!”

Ren’s smile was one of the other smiles that made Yuki feel safe. 

“I ran around the bases three times today, mama!” 

“That’s great, Akira!” Sumire kissed her son on the forehead.

“Mama!”

“What? I’ll kiss and cuddle you all I want!” 

“B-But!”

“Don’t try it, Akira!” Ren cried out as Sumire tightened her grip around Akira. 

“Ahh. This is what I was waiting for.” Morgana nodded. “Etsuko was kind enough to give us a frame and print that photo right after she took it.”

Looking over at the bookshelf, he spotted the photo, which sat next to a plethora of other ones. 

“I got one for my room!” Yuki cheerfully exclaimed. “Oh, right! I need to work on that tonight! We have to eat, everyone!”

“Work on what?” Ren tilted his head.

“My final project! I’m going to write about when Akira and Kasumi were born!”

“Interesting… Any reason why that moment, specifically?”

“The assignment is for us to write about an important event that occurred in our lives!”

“That’s so sweet, Yuki!” Sumire hugged Yuki even tighter. “I can remember it like yesterday…”

“My wallet definitely remembers…” Ren coughed.

“Dinner time!” Kasumi yelled, squeezing out of the hug and running into the kitchen.

“Don’t run, Sumi!” Akira reached his arm out after her.

“My my.” Sumire giggled and let everyone go. “We really should eat, then.”

“Fish~!” Morgana gleefully ran after Kasumi.

As Yuki, Sumire, Akira and Morgana all made their way to the kitchen, Ren took one step back and watched them all.

* * *

“Thank you for the food!” 

The Amamiya family clapped their hands in unison before early digging into the fish dinner Yuki had prepared for them. Morgana and Kasumi competed to see who would enjoy the food more, while the rest savored their food. 

“Papa!”

“What’s up, Akira?” 

“When do Kasumi and I get the front door thingy?”

“Hmmm… Probably not for a couple more years. You have to be a certain age, for whatever reason.”

“Aww…”

“I wanna visit Usumi-hibaasan!” Kasumi dropped her fork onto her now empty plate as she kicked her legs while sitting on her chair. 

“We could visit mom, dad and grandma soon!” Sumire gave her an affirmative nod.

“Yayyyyyyyy!”

“She’ll be happy to see you, too.”

“Don’t you want to visit my mom and dad, too?” Ren whimpered.

“Yeah!” Kasumi bounced in her seat. “Masami-baasan and Dai-jiisan give us candy!”

“You’re not going to be able to eat much more candy, Kasumi.”

“Whaaaaat? But… mama!”

“You want to be a rhythmic gymnast, right?”

“Mhm!”

“Hanako-basan told you about dieting today, right?”

“Yeah…”

“If you want to be like mama, you’ll need to listen to Hanako-basan, okay?”

Kasumi puckered her lips and furrowed her brows as she looked up at her mother, whose bright smile was something she could not find herself lying to.

“No more candy.” 

“Once a week.” Sumire held up a finger.

“Oh! Okay!” A bright smile overtook Kasumi’s face as her eyes lit up.

“Hey mama…” Akira stirred his empty fork around his plate.

“Yes, Akira?” 

“Can we watch some videos together? Of your um. Your performances.”

“Of course!” 

“Oh Akira, you’re in for it now!” Ren smirked as he reached his hand over and ruffled Akira’s hair. “Prepare to have your mind _blown_!”

“Mama was good enough to win the gold, right?”

“Oh yeah.”

“I wanna watch mama!” Kasumi jumped out of her seat. “Let’s go now!”

“I’ll clean up.” Yuki stood up and started to pick up the plates. 

“Now now, Yuki.” Sumire picked up some of their cups. “I can’t let you do everything yourself.”

“You already made dinner for us.” Ren walked over to Yuki and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Go sit down and look up some of the old vids.”

“Thank you, dad.”

“You’re so responsible.” Ren smirked, bent down, and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you for helping us so much.”

“C’mon, Onee-chan!” Kasumi grabbed Yuki’s hand and pulled her toward the living room. 

“Hehe… Okay.”

Yuki couldn’t help but smile as her adorable little sister escorted her. Akira sat on the family couch, crawling around eagerly as he waited. 

“Okay…” Yuki and Kasumi sat down on the couch next to him, wrapping their arms around him in a group cuddle. “Oracle!”

“Hello, Yuki.” Their TV responded to her call, with a green line moving across the screen as it spoke. 

“Can you find any videos of mom’s rhythmic gymnastic performances?”

“By “mom” are you referring to Sumire Yoshizawa?”

“Yes!”

“Understood. Searching for Sumire Yoshizawa rhythmic gymnastics performances.”

“Why can’t I talk to the TV, Onee-chan?” Kasumi rubbed her face against Yuki’s.

“Japanese law states that you can’t get a biometric ID or voice recognition until you’re seven. I don’t know why.”

“Aki and I are almost six!”

“I’m sorry, Kasumi.” 

“Laws are dumb!”

“Said like a true Phantom Thief!” Morgana laughed as he jumped up onto the couch. 

“Searching for Kasumi Yoshizawa rhythmic gymnastics videos…”

“Huh?” Yuki looked at the TV. “Wait, Oracle…”

“One result found.”

“You three got it all set up?” Ren walked in with Sumire, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. 

The television flashed for a moment before bringing up a video. Standing on a podium in a pink leotard was a young girl who wore her brown hair in a tight bun, whose brown eyes sparkled with ambition as an interviewer stood before her. Behind the podium was a series of lights in the shape of a fan, colored pink, white and purple. 

“Ow wow! The crowd is going wild!” The interviewer began. Their cheers are shaking the stadium to welcome a new heroine to the world of rhythmic gymnastics!”

“Thank you so much!” The brown-hair girl exclaimed. I’m simply thrilled with the results I had today!”

“You’ll be entering high school soon. Will that impact your career in rhythmic gymnastics?”

“Oh, I have no intention of stopping! It’s my dream to compete and win at the international level!”

“How wonderful! One last question-- Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout-out to while you have the chance?”

“My younger sister! She should be here in the stadium…” The brown-haired girl looked off in the distance, and the camera panned over to a red-haired girl at the opposite end of the stadium. “Oh, there she is! Sumire! Sumire! I did it!” She looked back down at the interviewer, with the camera following her. “Both of us have the same dream--to be international champions! Let’s make it come true, Sumire! Together!”

Applause filled the stadium again as the video ended. 

“Mama!”

Sumire blinked as she heard Kasumi’s voice. 

“Yes, Kasumi?”

“That was Kasumi-basan, right?”

“It was.”

“She was so pretty!”

“Yes, she was.” 

Ren tightened his grip around Sumire’s hand, but found that she was still calm. She wasn’t shaking, quivering or shaking at all. Instead, she was smiling. 

“You were pretty too, mama!”

“She still _is_ , Kasumi.” Ren held up a finger. 

“Mhm! Mama is _super_ pretty!”

“I’ve never seen that video…” Yuki cupped her right hand under her chin. “Oracle, when was that recorded?”

“February 2016.”

“Whaaaaaaaat?” Akira’s jaw dropped. “That was… 21 years ago!”

“Ack!” Ren winced. “That makes me feel old, Akira!”

“Time really flies, huh.” Morgana smiled as he plopped his front paws on Kasumi’s head. 

“I remember that interview.” Sumire nodded. “It really was a long time ago. Papa and I made that dream come true, though.” 

“Yup! You got the gold!” Kasumi hopped from the couch and ran up to Sumire, hugging her leg. “You did the promise!”

“Yes…” Sumire picked her up and kissed her on the forehead. “Now, let’s watch some of my performances. You wanted to see what I did to win, right?”

“Yuh-huh!” Kasumi kissed her back, and Ren leaned into Sumire’s ear. 

“I’m proud of you, Sumire.”

“Let’s sit down together.”

Sumire pushed Ren forward, and they all sat down on the couch together, with Kasumi on Ren’s lap, Akira on Sumire’s, and Morgana on Yuki’s. 

“Let’s try that again.” Ren clapped. “Oracle.”

“You rang?” The TV laughed mischievously.

“Huh? Futaba-obasan?” Yuki tilted her head. 

“How’d you know?”

“I’d recognize your laugh anywhere. Why didn’t you respond to me?”

“I was serving customers. On top of that, I’m only pinged when Ren calls out. It’s a fun little feature I added during my last visit. If anyone else calls for Oracle, it’ll just be your TV AI. Thanks for namin’ it that, by the way. Makes me feel special.”

“Next thing I know you’re going to be the ID scanner at the front door…” Ren sighed.

“Maybe. You wanted vids on Sumire’s performances, right?”

“Hi Futaba-basan!” Kasumi waved at the TV.

“Hey there Kasumi. Good job at practice today.”

“Hi, Futaba-basan.” Akira lightly waved. 

“Hullo!”

“Can you see us?”

“Yup. Why are you blushing, Sumire?”

“H-Huh?” Sumire’s cheeks turned a light pink. “I’m not… Wait!”

“Heheh. Alright. I’ve got the vids. I gotta get back to work, so enjoy the show, make some popcorn, snuggle. I’m gonna snuggle with Hanako and Ken later and watch Featherman. Buh-bye!”

“We’re going to have to talk with her…” Ren looked at Sumire with a frown. 

“I’m sure she won’t do anything strange. “ Sumire shook her head. “She knows Hanako’s wrath. Kenichi has influenced her, too.”

“Hah. I’m glad they can rein her in. They’re a good family.” 

“Papa! The screen!” Kasumi tugged on his sleeve. 

“Hm? Oh right.”

Ren looked at the screen and saw a variety of video thumbnails, labeled with numbers. Each thumbnail had a title. Sumire’s 2021 World Championship, 2022, 2023, and the 2024 Olympics. 

“Oracle. Play Sumire’s 2024 Olympics routine.”

“Understood, Joker.”

“Hey!” Yuki puffed her cheeks. “You didn’t tell me I could have Oracle call me by my codename!” 

“I have to keep some secrets.” Ren smirked, and the video began. 

The Amamiya family watched each one of Sumire’s performances, with the camera panning between Ren escorting her out, the audience, the Phantom Thieves, and Sumire as she danced. 

“Feels like yesterday I saw this in person…” Ren rested his chin on top of Kasumi’s head.

“You got to walk with her, papa?”

‘Yup.” 

“So cool!” 

“Mama… You’re beautiful.” Akira stared at the screen, wide-eyed as he watched. Sumire felt him grip her hands tightly with his own. 

“Thank you, Akira.” Sumire nuzzled her nose into his hair. 

“That tickles, mama!”

“Tickle tickle tickle!” 

“Mama!” Ahaha… I wanna watch!” Akira laughed as Sumire tickled him.

“Okay, okay. You’re just so cute!”

“I-I’m not cute!” 

“Yeah, Sumire! Akira’s handsome, like me!” Morgana laughed.

“Okay, you’re handsome _and_ cute!”

“Mama!”

“My little Akira…” Sumire giggled as she hugged her son. 

The performances continued, with Sumire stepping up with the ribbon last. For the first time, Kasumi and Akira got to watch their mother give her best and most heartfelt performance. Yuki had watched it many times on her own, always mystified by how Sumire moved and held herself. 

“It’s too bad you three didn’t get to see it live.” Ren smirked. “So much has happened since then…”

As Sumire concluded her final performance, she laid down on the mat, with the ribbon forming a heart around her. 

“Wow!” Kasumi clapped excitedly and turned to her mother. “That was so good, mama!”

“Thank you, Kasumi. There was something more important than my movements, though. Do you know what that is?” Sumire wiped a small tear from her eyes.

“Um… The ribbon!”

“Not that.” 

“Umm… Papa watching?”

“That’s exactly right.”

“You danced for papa!”

“Yes.”

“You really love papa, mama!”

“With all my heart, Kasumi.”

“If you thought she was showing off, just wait!” Ren winked at his youngest. “Oracle. Play the victory ceremony that happened right after.”

“Oh boy…” Morgana sighed.

“What happens during this?” Akira looked up at Sumire curiously.

“Just watch.”

Akira looked back down at the TV and joined his family as they all watched Sumire receive her gold medal. Right after she did, Ren stepped out of the shadows, and the two embraced. The crowd and announcers went wild as Ren bent down and presented Sumire with the engagement ring. Kasumi and Akira looked at him in complete awe as the video ended with Ren running out of the stadium with Sumire in his arms.

“You asked mama to marry you at the Olympics?” Akira doubled back, rubbing his eyes while lifting his glasses.

“Yup. In front of the whoooooooooole world.” Ren smugly nodded.

“Mama got a medal and a ring!” Kasumi exclaimed. “How happy were you, mama?”

“That day was one of the happiest in my life.” Sumire smiled brightly. 

“What are the other days?”

“Those were when I found out I was pregnant, and when I had you three.”

“I love you mama!”

“I love you too, Kasumi.”

“I need to start my essay…” Yuki squeezed out of the couch and planted her feet on the floor while holding Morgana in her arms.. “I’ll be in my room!”

“Have fun!” Ren waved her off as she made her way to her room. As she turned the corner, she heard Sumire mention wanting to watch Sakiya’s performances. Closing the door behind her, Yuki stared at the blank document on her computer screen as Morgana hopped up onto the desk. 

“What _IS_ important to me?”

“Are you asking that ironically?” Morgana gave her a curious look. “You already know.”

“I just wanted to ask it aloud. My family is the most important thing to me. Mom, dad, Aki, Kasumi, and you, Mona.”

“That’s right.” Morgana pressed his nose against hers. “So where do you want to start?”

“I think I’ll start with when we stole mom’s heart on her birthday, and go on from there.”

“Sure. This isn’t just one important event, right? It’s about what’s important to you generally?”

“Mhm.”

“Show me what you’ve got, Yuki!”

“Right!”

Upon taking a deep breath, Yuki’s fingers met the keyboard as she began to type out her life journey from the moment she took the birthday picture. She _quickly_ surpassed 200 words, and found herself barely at the moment Sumire announced that she was pregnant.

“Hmm... “ Morgana looked at the screen. “This is turning out to be more of a journal than a short essay. You’re going to have to cut back on what you cover.”

“No.” Yuki adamantly shook her head. “This is really fun!”

“Well, in that case, why not actually make it a journal? Ren used to keep one, you know.”

“Let’s do that! And wait, dad did?” Yuki stretched her fingers, knitting them between each other.

“When he was on probation and living with Boss, Ren kept a journal about what he did every single day. A huge portion of it is him gushing about Sumire, though.”

“He never told me…” Yuki curled one finger through her white streak of hair. “The journal of the leader of the Phantom Thieves… I’d love to read it.”

“I think he has it. That, or Boss still has it. I can’t remember.”

“I hope we can find it!”

“We’ll ask another time. You want to keep writing, right?”

“Yes!” Yuki pumped her fists.”We’re picking up when mom announced she was pregnant!”

“Alright!” Morgana held up a paw, which Yuki high-fived.

“It’s showtime!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A DeathKnight Production. I'm actually doing this...
> 
> I won't be releasing this on a super consistent, breakneck speed schedule like with my previous fic. This will primarily explore Yuki's teen years, with a lot of family fluff between.


	2. My Homie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki recollects how she reacted when Sumire announced she was pregnant, and of when she first met Kenichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all fluff. Always has been. Development can occur within fluffy moments though. Not everybody needs to go through hell and back to grow, and not every moment needs to be hell on earth. 
> 
> Sumire and Ren are super adoring parents! I accept nothing less.
> 
> Yes, I use past and present in breaks. It's for ease of readability, and sanity. Knight won't let me not.

_ Sunday, April 13th, 2031, Amamiya Household, Past _

“Twins?” Ren fell out of his chair as he recoiled backward, his arms shooting up from shock.

“Yes!” Sumire giggled and looked down at him. “I’m pregnant with twins!”

“You have two babies inside you mama?” Yuki hopped out of her seat and ran around to Sumire, grabbing her hand.

“Yes!”

“Are they boys? Girls? Boy and a girl?” Yuki’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she touched Sumire’s stomach with her other hand. “You touched your belly, so… Are they in there?”

“I’m not sure yet, but yes, the babies are basically in my belly.” 

“How did you hide this?” Morgana’s eyes widened. “When you were pregnant with Yuki, you had nausea, cravings, and everything else!”

“I still do” Sumire shook her head. “But I really wanted to surprise you all!”

“My Mementos savings…” Ren groaned as he stood up. 

“I’m sorry, Ren.” 

With a smile, Sumire wrapped her free hand around Ren’s head and pulled him against her shoulder. 

“Don’t be sorry, silly.” Ren hugged Sumire with one arm while patting Yuki’s head with his other hand. “This is amazing news. Yuki, you get to be a big sister, like mama said!”

“I get to be just like Etsuko-oneechan!” 

“Yup. It’s a lot of responsibility, though. Mama is going to need a lot of help with different things. Can you handle it?”

“Yes! I want to be a big sister!” Yuki eagerly tapped her feet against the floor, grabbing at Ren’s hand with her own. 

“Good!” Ren smirked and reached down to pick her up. “Because we’re going shopping… right now!”

‘Huh? Shopping?”

“Sumire?” Ren looked up at his wife.

“Thank you so much, Ren! I’m going to need ruby roman grapes!”

“Ruby…Roman… grapes… On it. C’mon, Yuki.”

“Okay!”

“I’m coming, too!” Morgana hopped onto Ren’s shoulder as he walked to the front of the house with Yuki in his arms. After setting her down, she changed her shoes with him, and they walked to the car together and got in, with Yuki strapping herself into her booster seat in the back. 

“You look really excited, Yuki.” Ren adjusted his rear-view mirror so he could see Yuki and Morgana, who sat on her lap.

“Of course! I’m gonna be a big sister! Our family is getting bigger!”

“It definitely is exciting. I hope one of them is a boy.”

“I agree!” Morgana laughed. “The ideal scenario would be a boy and a girl, so there is a balance!”

“A… balance?” Yuki scratched his ear and tilted her head, curiosity written all over her face.

“Yup! Three boys and three girls!”

“Oh!”

“I already know mama will be happy with anything.” Ren waved a hand as he drove. “I say that, but she definitely wants another girl.”

“If mama has a girl… I can do her hair! We can play together!”

“And what would you do with a little brother?”

“Um… We can play Featherman together!”

“We can teach both of them how to be Phantom Thieves!” Morgana excitedly purred.

“Mhm!” 

“How’d you hide this for so long, Sumire…?” Ren whispered to himself and shook his head. “Must’ve been in January… Not that I didn’t expect this. But… twins? I’ll need to talk to Akane and Shinichi. I have no clue how to handle twins!”

“What are you talking to yourself about up there?” Morgana squinted at Ren.

“Just losing my mind… Figuring out what to do from here.”

“Are you happy, papa? You look um… sad?” Yuki nervously looked at him. 

Ren took a deep breath as the car came to a stop, parking the car in front of an entrance to the Shibuya Underground Mall. 

“Of course I’m happy, Yuki. I’m also… stressed. Do you know that feeling when you go to try and talk to someone at school? You mentioned your heart feels tight, and you feel a little woozy?”

“Uh-huh.”

“That’s stress, and that’s what I feel right now. I’m super happy for us, really, but raising babies is really stressful.”

“Ren…” Morgana frowned.

Ren closed his eyes, and he felt the palm of a tiny hand rest upon his head as Yuki undid the booster seat straps herself and leaned forward. 

“You did a really good job, papa! You can do it again! Mona and I will help!”

“Hmmm…” 

A surge of warmth shot through Ren’s chest, and he couldn’t hide the faint smile creeping across his face.

“With your help, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I just want to warn you though, but sometimes mama won’t act like herself.”

“She won’t? 

“Mama has to take care of herself and two babies inside her. Sometimes she’ll be in pain, and she might get angry. If she ever yells at you, please don’t take it too harshly. Do you know how much it hurts when you stub your toe?”

“It hurts a lot!”

“That’s right. Now imagine if that pain didn’t go away. Wouldn’t you be mad?”

“I would!”

“That’s what mama is going to go through sometimes. We’re all going to help her get through it, okay?”

“Mhm!”

“Thank you, Yuki. Mama loves you more than anything, and so do I.”

“I love you too, papa! Mona too!”

“Aww… I love you too, Yuki.” Morgana purred against her.

“That tickles, Mona!”

“Hehehe.”

“Oh! Papa, how long until the babies come out of mama?”

“Uh…” Ren closed one eye with an intense squint and thought to himself for a second. “September, I think.”

“It’s only April!”

“It takes a while for the babies to get ready. You were the same, and so was I.”

“What about Mona?”

“I’m special!” Morgana snickered.

“Special?”

“Yup! I’m a manifestation of the hope of humanity!”

“The… mani... hope?” Yuki stared confusedly at him.

“Uh… I’m a special cat!”

“Yes you are!” Yuki giggled, picked him up, and snuggled him against her face. “So soft!”

“C’mon… Cut i-... Actually, this is fine.”

“Now I’m jealous.” Ren scoffed as he opened the car door. “I sound like Sojiro… Let’s head in.”

“Okay papa!”

With Yuki’s hand firmly gripped in his, Ren escorted his daughter around the mall on a grand quest for rare, expensive grapes. Morgana sat in Yuki’s bag, keeping an eye out for anything. Their adventure lasted well over an hour, with Ren managing to find the grapes. After the retrieval, the three got some ice cream together before making their way back home, where Sumire excitedly greeted them before devouring the grapes and preparing for bed soon after. They had work and school tomorrow, after all.

* * *

_ Present _

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Morgana let out a sigh as Yuki leaned back and stretched her hands, looking over what she had typed out on her school laptop and covered so far. 

“I wouldn’t miss getting to talk about Kenichi-kun for the world!”

“You two really care about each other… It’s still funny that you met before, well, “meeting.” Futaba and Hanako had to have known you’d meet at school…”

“He missed the first week of school because he was moving in with them.” Yuki nodded. “And the night after we met at school, mom and dad told me we’d be going to meet him that weekend!”

“Are you going to be adding that to your journal, too?”

“Yes! Now… How I met Kenichi-kun!”

“Yuki, you’re blushing.”

“N-No I’m not!”

Yuki lied as she breathed.

* * *

_ Monday, April 14th, 2031, Past _

As Yuki started her second week of school, she did not go in expecting to meet the boy who would become her best friend up to the present.

...And crush.

Rays of sunlight gleamed into the already lit classroom as Yuki started her day. Most educational systems allotted students their own personal school laptop at the start of first grade, which scanned their face and eyes to create a biometric ID for them. Each laptop had a basic AI implemented, one that reminded students of when their work was due. Futaba told Yuki that she was surprised classrooms hadn’t converted to stay-at-home, with students interacting in a virtual classroom.

“Must be the traditional values.” Is what she remarked. Hanako went on to say that physically being present was healthier, to which Sumire and Ren agreed. Personally, Yuki believed she might have an easier time interacting with people in a virtual space, given that she would be present but not  _ there _ . It was a lot for a first-grader to absorb, which was another reason Futaba believed it wasn’t implemented. 

Looking up at the smartboard, she could see the seams between it and the wall, reminding her that chalkboards had been standard-fare for a very long time. Many of the old teachers complained about how “smart” this technology really was, but Yuki was happy as long as she could learn. Smartboards were fast and snappy, responding to teacher’s commands and sending students what they needed on their laptops. Physical, group activities were still the norm, though, which Yuki dreaded, deep down. 

That was until…

“Please introduce yourself to the class.”

Yuki’s homeroom teacher, a short woman in her mid-30’s with black hair and eyes, motioned to the young boy standing next to her. The round glasses on his face were comically large, even bigger than Yuki’s. His brown hair was messy, as if he had ruffled it himself. Beneath the large frames were two cautious, beady brown eyes.

“M-My name is Kenichi A-S-Sakura.” The boy gripped his schoolbag, glaring down at the ground.

“You will sit behind Amamiya-san.” The teacher pointed at Yuki. “Go ahead.”

“Sakura?” Morgana ears perked up. “You think it’s a coincidence?”

“Shhh!” Yuki pushed him down. 

Kenichi slowly walked over to Yuki before giving her a curious glance as she pushed down on her bag.

“H-Hi!” Yuki nervously smiled.

“H-Hi.”

The sound of their teacher clearing her throat indicated to the two that they wouldn’t have time to talk right yet. The first half of the day flew by, with Yuki doing her best to focus on listening to her teacher while also thinking about what Kenichi had said. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long.

A silent bubble appeared to encompass Yuki and Kenichi as they were left alone on their lunch period. Every other student had gone off into their own separate groups, and all of Yuki’s friends from kindergarten ended up in different classes or schools entirely. Shizuku was still in kindergarten, and Etsuko was far ahead. Kenichi intrigued her, though. As they both pulled out their lunch boxes their eyes went wide. Kenichi’s box had a little note stuck to it that caught Yuki and Morgana’s attention, while Yuki’s bento box was twice the size of any normal one. 

_ You can do it, Kenichi! <3 Hanako. AND Futaba :P _

“Psst! Yuki!”

In the most subtle fashion that she could, Yuki fully unzipped her bag and turned away from Kenichi, resting it on her lap and slightly under her desk. It was a genius way of hiding Morgana. 

“You saw the note, right? This kid has some relation to Hanako and Futaba!”

“I did! Should we ask?”

“That feels kind of rude… We haven’t even introduced ourselves…”

“Hmmm…”

“Excuse me…” 

Yuki jumped in her seat and audibly “eeped” as she slowly turned her head to face Kenichi, who was trying to peer over her shoulder.

“Do you have… a cat?” 

“Uh… Hi!” Yuki spun around so that her body covered Morgana. “I’m Yuki! Yuki Amamiya!”

“Oh… Hi, Amamiya-san.”

“You can call me Yuki!”

“Wh- Really?”

“Mhm! Can I call you Kenichi-kun?”

“S-Sure…” 

“Okay, Kenichi-kun!” Yuki smiled and giggled. “Can you keep a secret?”

“A secret that you have a cat?” Kenichi tilted his head.

“Ah-” 

“I heard the meowing. Do you um, talk to it?”

“Um…”

“Jig’s up, Yuki.” Morgana sighed. “If he is who we think, then it should be fine.”

“I just heard it again…”

“Shh! I do have a cat, and his name is Mona!” Yuki whispered.

“Can I see him?”

“Yeah!” Yuki picked up her bag and held it toward Kenichi.

“H-Hi, Mona.”

“Meow.”

“He’s got blue eyes… That’s cool…”

“Right? Right?” Yuki smirked. 

“So you talk to him?”

“Yup! He’s special!”

“You both have a white streak in your hair, too…” Kenichi watched as Morgana rolled around in her bag. 

“Mhm!”

“That’s cool, Yuki-tan!”

“Yuki-tan? Me?” Yuki pointed at herself.

“Yeah!” Kenichi nodded, and the two went silent again.

…

…

…

“Um… Thank you.” 

“What’d I do?” Yuki gave him a befuddled look.

A faint scowl covered Kenichi’s face as he looked around.

“You talked… to me.”

“Is something wrong?” Yuki spoke to him gently, lowering her voice even more.

“I didn’t think anybody wanted to talk to me… I got here a week late…” Kenichi’s voice cracked, and tears formed in his eyes. 

“W-Wait don’t cry!” 

“I thought I was gonna be alone…”

“Well um, you have me!” Yuki grabbed his hand. “I promise!”

“Oh…”

Kenichi felt a warm radiance pulse through his body as Yuki held his hand, her bright smile becoming the sole thing in view. 

“I promise too!”

After a few more minutes, Yuki and Kenichi finally opened their bento boxes, and the rest of their lunch period consisted of Kenichi watching in pure amazement as Yuki devoured her food, leaving not even a scrap of rice behind. The rest of the day went quickly, and the two even walked out of the school together. As Yuki went to walk home, she quickly looked back and found Kenichi was not following her.

“Are you coming, Kenichi-kun?”

“I have to wait here f-for my moms.”

“Oh! Are they coming to pick you up?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay!” Yuki excitedly nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Mhm. Bye!”

With a smile, Yuki went home and found that she didn’t need to ask any questions about Kenichi. Morgana and her didn’t want to peter him regarding the situation, and they both agreed they’d find out sooner rather than later. Sumire was already home by the time she arrived, and Ren followed up soon after. They all made dinner together before convening to eat.

“How was school today, Yuki?” Ren skirted his fork around the green beans on his plate, only for Sumire to playfully jab at his ribs.

“Good! I made a new friend!”

“That’s good to hear.”

“It’s a boy!”

“Excuse me?” Ren squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow.

“Ren, please!” Sumire puffed her cheeks and grabbed his arm. 

“I’m just kidding.” He laughed before looking back at Yuki. “We’ve got some big news, too. Futaba and Hanako adopted a kid, and they want us to visit this weekend.”

“Ahha!” Morgana boasted. “So he really is their kid!”

“Huh? What are you saying, Morgana?” Ren tilted his head.

“The boy that Yuki became friends with is named Kenichi Sakura! He had a little note from Hanako and Futaba on his bento box!”

“Oh how wonderful!” Sumire clapped her hands. “So you’ve already met him!”

“Yes!” Yuki giggled. “He’s super nice!”

“Well there goes the element of surprise…” Ren shrugged. “Oh well. Shizuku hasn’t met him yet, and she’s coming with Sakiya and Ryuji.” 

“We can all play together!”

“I haven’t met Kenichi-kun myself, and neither has mama. You said he’s nice, Yuki.”

“Mhm! I showed him my lunch and we talked about Mona and stuff!”

“You can’t go telling everyone that you talk to your cat.” Sumire reached her hand out and scratched Morgana’s ears.. “We all love Morgana very much, but he’s special. I don’t want people to tease you.”

“We’re super-duper quiet, mama!” Yuki puffed her cheeks and clapped her hands on the table. 

“Yeah!” Morgana nodded. “We’re Phantom Thieves, after all!”

“Yup!” Yuki excitedly nodded. “We talked to Kenichi-kun first! He didn’t catch us!”

“You’re not supposed to say that out loud!” 

Ren and Sumire laughed together as Yuki covered her mouth, her eyes widening. A few seconds passed before the laughter faded, and Sumire gave Yuki a warm look.

“Futaba and Hanako told us about Kenichi a few days ago, and they wanted to settle in before inviting anyone over to meet him. I don’t think anybody expected him to be in the same class as you!”

“I bet Kenichi-kun is talking to Hanako and Futaba right now. Actually…” Ren pulled out his phone. “Let’s find out.”

The Amamiya family huddled together as they waited patiently for someone to answer the projected call. 

“Yo.” An image of Futaba appeared, akin to being on a projector.

“Hey, Futaba.”

“Hi Futaba-obasan!”

“Hello, Futaba.”

“Meow.”

“Oh no, Morgana’s lost his ability to speak!” Futaba looked over the single image of the family huddled together. 

“Just kidding! So what’s up?”

“Yuki met Kenichi-kun before we even told her the plan.”

“Oh yeah, I knew  _ that _ . He hasn’t stopped talking about her since he came home from school.” 

“That’s so sweet!” Sumire giggled while patting Yuki’s head. 

“You didn’t know what class he was going to be in, Futaba?” Ren twirled a strand of hair with his free hand. 

“Not until today. Of course, a class number doesn’t give names, so we had no clue if he’d end up in Yuki-chan’s class. I’m glad he did, though. He was really afraid of being alone.”

“That’s a feeling you know all too well.”

“Yeah… Just about sums up my elementary school life. Anyway, are we still good for this weekend?”

“Yup.”

“Sweet. I haven’t seen Shizuku-chan in a while. This’ll be a fun little distraction.”

“There’s something else we’d like to tell you.”

“Hm?”

“Take it away Sumire.” Ren gave his wife a nod.

“Oh! Futaba, I’m pregnant again!”

“Congrat-”

“With twins!”

“That’s two new players!” Futaba reeled back and looked over at Ren. “Look at what you did!”

“We’ve got a lot of space in the house, and both Sumire and Yuki are excited beyond belief. You get to try and corrupt even more younglings, too.”

“Heheheh. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She snickered. 

“Where are Hanako and Kenichi-kun, Futaba?” 

“At the house with dad. I’m going to close up soon myself and roll on over there.”

“Futaba-obasan!”

“What’s up, Yuki-chan?”

“Tell Kenichi-kun mama, papa, Mona and me said hi! Hanako-obasan and Boss-ojiichan too!”

“On it. I’m gonna make like a mom and go hug my son. Buh-bye!”

The call ended with the family collectively feeling their hearts melt. 

“I’m so happy for them!” Sumire sniffled. 

“Honestly, I never imagined Futaba to be the type of person who’d try this, but she seems to really be enjoying it.” Ren smiled and put his phone away. “Watching your child grow up is a blessing I wouldn’t give for the world.”

“Ehehehe…” Yuki joyously smiled. 

“There is one thing… Kenichi can’t understand me.” Morgana licked his paw casually.

“Huh… Well, he did grow up around normal cats, or at least I bet he never thought one would talk.” Ren scratched his head. “Eh, it’s been too long to remember how it all works. Yuki can translate for you, right?”

“Mhm!” Yuki giggled and scooped Morgana up in her arms. “I love you Mona!”

“I love you too Yuki.” Morgana purred and nudged his head against her cheek.

“I can’t wait for the babies to meet you!”

“We still have quite some time before that.” Sumire rubbed her belly. “But I’m looking forward to it, too.”

“We all are.” Ren rested his hand on hers while staring into her luminous, ruby eyes. “Things are going to get crazy, aren’t they?”

“When haven’t they been, Ren?” Sumire smirked and looked over at the gold medal. 

“... Now that you mention it, I can’t think of any time when we weren’t driving ourselves crazy.”

“Exactly!” 

“I’m crazy too!” Yuki hopped out of her chair and proceeded to dart around the room, hiding behind furniture.

“Crazy good at being a Phantom Thief!” Morgana whispered.

“I’m not too sure, since I heard you just then.” Ren laughed. 

“Let’s show him, Yuki! Or better yet, let’s  _ not _ !”

“Yes! Snow moving out!”

Ren and Sumire averted their gaze while Yuki and Morgana snuck off, pretending not to notice them. After waiting for a few minutes, they searched around the house for the duo, eventually finding them hiding in a laundry hamper. Sumire chastised the two and made them take a bath. The family concluded the night with a round of bedtime stories, with Ren recalling some of the time he spent with his friends long ago...

* * *

_ Present _

Yuki proceeded to type about the days immediately following the first time she met Kenichi. She wrote about how they spoke during their lunch breaks and after school, making up stories together, talking about their interests, and rambling on about their favorite things. Kenichi, like most young boys, loved Featherman, which was a timeless kids show about fighting injustice and evil. It had gone through several iterations and characters, but it didn’t quite matter who was under the mask, but instead that anybody could be a Featherman. Yuki proceeded to bring Featherman to space, eagerly talking about the planets and stars which she had recently become obsessed with.

To Morgana’s surprise, Yuki wrote down nearly every detail of every day as she explored her own past. He knew she had a great memory, but he didn’t realize just how precious these memories were to her. As he read along, he began to recall many of the events that took place, realizing that a lot had happened before the birth of Kasumi and Akira.

“You’re already 10 pages in and you’re just getting to when Shizuku met Kenichi?”

“Yes!”

“Jeez, Yuki… You really are like your parents. Passionate and determined. I’ll try to fill in anything you miss.”

“Thank you, Mona.”

“Onee-chan!” 

Yuki and Morgana looked over and found Kasumi peeking her head in the door. 

“Hi, Kasumi.”

“You typing?”

“I am.”

Kasumi excitedly ran up to Yuki and tugged on her dress.

“Wanna play together?” 

“Hmmm…” Yuki reached her hand out and patted Kasumi on the head. “I’d love to, but I have homework that I’m doing.”

“Awwww!” Kasumi puffed her cheeks. “You always do work super fast!”

“That’s true, but this is special. I’m typing a story about you and Aki.”

“Me and Aki?” Kasumi tilted her head.

“Mhm. It’s a story about when mama had you both in her belly, and when you were both babies. Do you remember much about that?”

“Uhhhh… I remember cuddles!”

“There’s a whole lot of crazy things that happened while mama, papa and I raised you two.” Morgana snickered. “Why don’t you stick around and listen while Yuki writes and I tell you? Just promise to be quiet.”

“Okay okay!” Kasumi clapped her hands excitedly. “I’ll get Aki!” 

In a flash, she disappeared from the room. A few seconds later she returned with Akira in tow, their hands intertwined. 

“Onee-chan is doing homework, Sumi!” Akira hissed. “Leave her alone!”

“Onee-chan wants us to listen!” Kasumi bounced. “Right?”

After taking a deep breath, Yuki hopped out of her seat and walked over to her two younger siblings. Placing her hands on their heads, she smiled.

“If you two promise to be quiet, Mona will read the story as I write it. Promise?”

“Okay onee-chan!” 

“I want to hear, onee-chan. Sumi told me you wanted to write about when we were babies?”

“That’s right, Aki!”

“Sit down on the bed, you two.” Morgana motioned with his paw. 

“Okay!” The two nodded and ran over to Yuki’s bed, which had flower-patterned sheets and blankets, and quickly competed to crawl onto it. “Story time!”

* * *

_ Sunday, April 20th, 2031, Past _

“Sumire!”

“Sakiya!”

As the Amamiya family and Sakamoto family convened at Leblanc, the two former gymnasts practically leapt into each other’s arms. 

“It’s good to see you!”

“It’s been so long!”

“You two were talkin’ to each other yesterday…” Ryuji sighed. “How’s it going, Ren?” He held out his hand, which Ren shook.

“Good. You?”

“Sakiya’s expecting again, so I’ve got that to think about. Other than that, same old.”

“You too, Sakiya?” Sumire’s eyes widened as a gleeful smile crossed her face.

“Me too? You’re pregnant, Sumire?” 

“Yes, I am!”

“That’s great!” Sakiya hugged her again. “I recently found out we have another little one on the way.”

“I’m having twins!” 

“Oh!” Sakiya looked over at Ren. “You got busy, huh?”

“Don’t phrase it like that…” Ren sighed. 

“You guys don’t tell each other this immediately? I guess it’s more fun if you announce it in person…” Morgana sighed. “Even I know announcing everything over a call isn’t that rewarding.”

“Hi Shizuku-chan!” Yuki ran up to her blonde friend and hugged her.

“Hi Yuki-chan!” Shizuku hugged her back. “You gonna be a big sis?”

“Yes! You too!” 

“Mama!”

“Yes, Shizuku?” Sakiya looked down at her daughter.

“Sumire-basan said she is having a baby?” 

“Yup. Twins!”

“Twins?” Shizuku furrowed her eyebrows and scratched her head.

“Two babies!”

“How come Sumire-basan gets two babies!?” 

“There are a couple of reasons why!” Sakiya laughed. “I don’t think you’re quite ready to know, though.”

“I wanna know mama!” Shizuku huffed and stomped her foot. 

“Shizuku, c’mere.” Ryuji bent down and held out his arms. 

“Not until mama tells me!”

“Mama can’t tell you because she doesn’t know.” He shook his head. “It’s a mystery why Sumire is havin’ two babies.”

“Mama doesn’t know?”

“Nope!”

“Mama?” Shizuku looked at Sakiya, confused.

“It’s like papa said. It’s a mystery.”

“Aww…”

“Futaba-obasan told me how babi-” Yuki raised her hand and went to shout, but found herself silenced by Sumire, who covered her mouth and picked her up. 

“Let’s head inside. Futaba, Hanako, Boss-san and Kenichi-kun are all waiting.”

“Mmmmmhm!” 

Using that as a cue, Ren opened the door to Leblanc. A familiar scent of coffee immediately met his nostrils as he spotted Sojiro, wearing his dapper white suit, which matched his grey hair, Hanako, Futaba, and Kenichi, who were all together in a booth. All of them wore an assortment of odd t-shirts, likely created by Hanako herself. Sojiro wore one that had Futaba and himself on it, while Hanako wore one with Futaba and Kenichi on it. Kenichi’s had Futaba, Hanako and Sojiro all together, while Futaba’s had Hanako and Kenichi. Kenichi wore his with a bit of apprehension on his face, but it was mixed with a smile.  


“Heyo!”

“Hello!”

“Hey, kid.” 

The adults and Morgana all exchanged hellos, while Shizuku and Yuki ran up to Kenichi, who sat next to Sojiro on the outer end of the booth seat.

“H-Hi Yuki-chan! Hi Mona!” Kenichi gave Yuki and Morgana a nod.

“Meow.” Morgana propped himself on Yuki’s shoulder. 

“You have to introduce yourself to everyone, Ken.” Sojiro ruffled his hair. 

“Oh!” He barely managed to take his eyes off Yuki and looked around. “H-Hello. I’m Kenichi Sakura!”

“I’m Shizuku Sakamoto!” Shizuku gave him a nod. “Call me Shizuku!”

“Okay Shizuku-chan!” Ken nodded back. “Um… You’re…” He looked up at Ren.

“I’m Ren, and this is Sumire, my beautiful wife.” Ren smirked and wrapped an arm around Sumire. “Yuki’s told us a lot about you.”

“Yuki-tan talks about you all the time!” 

“I hope she’s saying good things.”

“She says you,” Kenichi pointed at Sumire, “You like to run around in a lee-o-tard!”

“Oh my.” Sumire giggled. “I feel like someone told her to tell you that.” She nudged Ren’s ribs. “I did wear a leotard often, yes.”

“Darn…” 

“Hey hey hold on!” Ryuji gently pushed past Ren. “We haven’t gotten to introduce ourselves! I’m Ryuji, Shizuku’s dad!” 

“And I’m Sakiya, Shizuku’s mom!” Sakiya scooted around him, bumping into one of the bar stools along the way. 

“Hi!” Kenichi smiled at them. 

“Hmmm…” Sojiro rubbed his goatee. “Kenichi’s already got some good friends. Oh, by the way, congrats, Sumire-chan.”

“Why thank you, Boss-san!”

“Congratulations on twins!” Hanako clapped. “I’m so happy for you!”

“I’m pregnant too!” Sakiya laughed. “Guess it’s just the season.”

“Congratulations, Sakiya!” Hanako stood up and motioned for Sumire and Sakiya to join her for a hug. Both of them stepped up and did so, the three former rhythmic gymnasts smiling as they embraced. “You’re both such good moms, and now I’m a mom, too!”

“Congratulations to you too.” Sakiya patted her back. “Knowing you, I bet that you’re still ecstatic and barely getting any sleep.”

“Futaba makes sure I get proper sleep every night, just like I do for her!” Hanako giggled. “I still am super excited, though!”

“It’s a nice feeling.” Futaba nodded, looking over the three kids. “It’s hard to describe, but knowing you’re responsible for someone that relies on you… Really makes me feel like an adult. Makes me happy when I think about my mom. I knew how much she cared about me, but now I know exactly how she felt. Isn’t that right, Ken?” With a smirk, she stood up, bent down, and pinched his nose.

“Ahhh! Mom!” 

“You’re so goofy! You can call me Futaba, you know? I used to call Sojiro by his name when I was young!”

“Don’t bully the kid, Futaba.” Sojiro chuckled. 

“It’s called love and discipline!” She let go of his nose and ruffled his hair. 

“I wanna play with KenKen!” Shizuku clapped her hands repeatedly. 

“Kenichi-kun likes Featherman too, Shizuku-chan!” Yuki pumped her fists.

“We could all play in the attic.” Morgana wagged his tail. 

“We’ve actually started to renovate the attic.” Futaba waved her hand. “We’re turning it into a fort. Right Ken?”

“Yup! It’s my big fort!”

“Can I see the fort?” Shizuku’s eyes sparkled. 

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

Kenichi ran up the stairs, and the kids followed, leaving the adults to themselves.

“Want some coffee?” Futaba eyed the four while she stepped behind the main counter. 

“Salvadoran pacamara.” Ren plainly responded while taking a seat.

“I’ll have a 100 milligram cup of hawaain kona! Thank you, Futaba!” Sumire beamed a smile as she sat next to him. 

“100 milligrams, huh? That’s about half a cup…” Futaba adjusted her glasses.

“Yes! I have to regulate my intake!”

“I’ll take a soda.” Ryuji rolled his shoulder and sat in the opposite booth seat. 

“I’ll have water, thank you.” Sakiya joined him. 

“Let me help you, Futaba!” Hanako gleefully giggled as she stepped behind the counter and gave her wife a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“Hehehehe…”

“So… twins. How’d you manage that, Ren?” Sojiro smirked as he stood up and looked down at his former barista. 

“Uh…”

“We went to a nice hotel for our dating anniversary!” Sumire answered with a shameless smile.

“Oh right. Hanako-chan and Futaba watched Yuki-chan in January. So you got busy, huh? Hoo boy.”

“Please stop mentioning it…” Ren scratched the back of his head. “At the end of the day, we’ve got two more little ones coming, and I’m both excited and terrified.”

“We’ll be fine, Ren.” With a smirk, Sumire closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. “You did great with Yuki. No, you’re still doing great. What’s two more adorable babies?”

“Well, it’s two at once…” Ren sighed and wrapped his left hand around her right. “I just want to know if they’ll be boys or girls, or one and one…”

“I’m pretty curious about what our next little one will be!” Ryuji smiled and patted Sakiya’s stomach. “I’d like a boy…”

“I wouldn’t mind either! You know why?” Sakiya grinned.

“Uhhh…”

“You think we’re going to stop at two?” Sumire’s about to have three!”

“This ain’t a competitio-”

“The more the merrier!”

“You’re good with three, right?” Ren whispered into Sumire’s ear.

“Three is fine, yes.” She whispered back. 

“Phew…”

As the group settled in, Hanako and Futaba brought them their drinks.

“Here you go!” 

“Order up!”

With their drinks acquired, the adults all sat down and began to gush about their kids more, all while they started to cause trouble upstairs.

As the kids reached the top of the stairs, they found themselves staring as a mish-mash of boxes scattered around the room. Different sheets and blankets lined the boxes, creating what a five year-old would call a fort. 

“Bet you can’t catch me!” Morgana snickered and ran off between some of the boxes.

“We gotta catch Mona!” Yuki got down on her knees and crawled in.

“I’m comin’!” Shizuku followed her, and Kenichi joined her. Morgana, using his dexterity, jumped between the boxes and managed to dodge the three kids as they crawled after him. Scattered around the floor were different toys, ranging from action figures to other miscellaneous items. 

“Bet Ken-kun can’t catch me!” 

“We were chasing Morgana, Shizuku-chan!” 

“I’ll give you some tuna if you come out, Mona!” Yuki held out her arms.

“Tuna?” Morgana perked his head up, and Yuki grabbed him.

“Gotcha now!” She grinned.

“You tricked me!”

“Like a real Phantom Thief!”

“...I’ve trained you well.”

“Heheheheh.” 

“You got him!” Shizuku popped up from a box.

“How’d you get inside a box?” Kenichi’s eyes widened.

“I dunno!” Shizuku looked around. “Is this gonna be your room?” 

“I have a room at the house! This is my fort! Fort!” Kenichi proudly declared.

“A fort needs cannons and stuff!” 

“Cannons?”

“Uh huh! Papa said he had cannons!”

“Oh!” Yuki clapped a closed fist into her palm. “Captain Kidd!”

“Yeah!” Shizuku smiled brightly. “The coolest pirate ever!”

“His name is William Kidd!”

“Huh?” Kenichi looked at them, bewildered. “Ryuji-ojisan had cannons? Pirate?” 

“Ryuji-ojisan’s Persona was Captain Kidd!”

“Per-so-na?”

“The real you!” Yuki quickly nodded. “Right Mona?”

“Yes. The Persona is the true self that you’ve accepted.”

“Papa says I can get one someday!” Shizuku picked up an action figure. “I gotta get a mask!”

“I have a mask!” Yuki proudly declared. “I’m Snow!”

“I want one!” Kenichi’s eyes beamed like stars. 

“Can Kenichi-kun get one, Mona?” Yuki let Morgana climb onto her shoulder.

“Uh… A mask or a Persona?”

“Mask!”

“Oh. Probably. He’d have to ask Futaba and Hanako, first.”

“Kenichi-kun! Mona says if you ask Futaba-obasan and Hanako-obasan, you can get a mask!”

“Awesome! Let’s go now!”

“Okay!” 

With excited fervor, the three kids made their way back downstairs, where their parents all sat, chatting. 

“Mom! Can I get a mask!?” Kenichi walked up to Hanako, a pleading look in his eyes.   
“A mask?” Hanako tilted her head. “It’s not Halloween… And you can call us by our names, Ken!”

“He’s talking about a Phantom Thief mask.” Futaba adjusted her glasses. “Guess you were all talking about those shenanigans.”

“We’re all going to be Phantom Thieves!” Yuki cheered as she grabbed Shizuku and Kenichi’s hands before raising them above her head. 

“Please don’t try anything dangerous…” Sumire cupped her hand against her cheek.

“Let them have their fun.” Sojiro chuckled. 

“If you want to all be Phantom Thieves, then you’ll need to listen to us!” Hanako posed. 

“Phantom Thieves  _ don’t _ listen, Hanako-basan!” Shizuku retorted.

“Oh! Um… I’ll make you all some snacks!”

“Snacks! I want snacks!”

“Looks like I’ll have to teach them to be more rebellious…” Morgana observed from atop Yuki’s shoulder.

“Morgana…”

Morgana gulped as he turned his head and found Sumire smiling at him, one eyebrow twitching.

“Y-Yes, Sumire?”

“Now it might be fun to pretend to be Phantom Thieves, but there is a line that will not be crossed.”

“Y-Yes ma’am.”

“Thank you!” Sumire giggled and scratched his ear. “So are you three all getting along?”

“We had tons of fun, mama!” Yuki nodded.

“Good!”

“Yup!” Shizuku yelled while running up to her own mother. “When will we get to play with the baby?”

“Ha!” Sakiya roared in laughter. “That’s still a ways off. Sorry, Shizuku, but you’ll need to be a bit patient.”

“Then I’ll play with Ken and Yuki more!”

“That’s right!” Ryuji ruffled her hair. 

“Things are only going to get rowdier…” Ren pinched his nose. “Oh well.”

With the promise of snacks hanging over them, the children all settled down and spent some time with each other, their parents, and Sojiro before splitting off and making their way home for the evening.

* * *

_ Present _

“This all happened when Aki and I were in mama’s belly?” Kasumi spoke from atop Yuki’s bed, jumping up and down.

“Yes.”

“That’s a lot!”

“We’re just getting started.” Yuki giggled.

“So Ken-aniki met you onee-chan… He had his fort back then?” Akira hugged Kasumi from behind and started to wrestle her on the bed.

“Ahhh! Aki!”

“He had his fort since the time Futaba-obasan and Hanako-obasan took him in. They really love him.”

“Do you love him onee-chan!?” 

“Wh-Wh- He’s my friend!” Yuki nearly fell out of her chair as her face flared up red.

“My my.” Sumire giggled as she stepped into the room. “What are my adorable little babies up to?”

“Onee-chan was telling us the story!” Kasumi crawled around Akira, holding his arm.

“Oh right!” Sumire clapped. “How far did you get, Yuki?”

“I told them about when we all went to Leblanc to formally meet Kenichi-kun.”

“How sweet! Ah… I remember it like yesterday. I’m so happy for Futaba and Hanako!”

“It’s fun, being able to tell Aki and Kasumi about all of this.”

“Papa and I love telling you all stories! You’ll have to stop here though. It’s bedtime!”

“I don’t wanna, mama!”

“Bedtime is bedtime, Kasumi.” Sumire walked up to her daughter and picked her up, taking Akira with her, who she caught with her other hand. 

“Onee-chan!” Akira looked at Yuki. “Will you tell us more tomorrow?”

A warm sensation pulsed through Yuki’s chest as she found herself smiling.

“Of course!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A KnightDeath Production.
> 
> So, I know, I mentioned that I was burnt out to some of my readers. It was an odd period, this last week. I think it was moreso me needing to rewire my brain to realize that no, I didn't need to force myself to put out chapters at a specific time. I got so used to working on a tight, self-imposed schedule because I thought I had an obligation. 
> 
> I was also VERY motivated to write, and I never seemed to burn out from that. Finishing my huge project caused some sort of whiplash I suppose, and I found out that I had lost that same motivation, and I guess I didn't properly hit the brakes, so my creative output got all scrambled up.
> 
> Regardless, I'm fine now, and I'm going to go at this new, free pace. It's hard to describe, but all-in-all, this fic will be much slower going than its predecessor.


	3. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki takes Kasumi to practice before typing more of her story, covering Sumire's second pregnancy.

_The Next Day, March 14th, 2037_

With a stride in her steps, Yuki excitedly made her way to school. Every teacher was going over the last of what was left to teach for the curriculum, but it all easily came to Yuki as she focused her thoughts on what she’d write about next. Kasumi and Akira loved listening to Morgana narrate as she typed everything, and she loved how much they enjoyed hearing about the past. Sakiya-obasan always told her history was important, after all. 

“So you’re going to cover Sumire’s second pregnancy today, right?” Morgana poked his head out of her bag with a smile as they prepared to leave after the last class.

“Mhm!”

“It was definitely a crazy time… I remember when she was pregnant with you, and I thought _that_ was crazy.”

“I wanted to do everything I could to help mom and dad, since I knew it was stressful for both of them.”

“Heh… You weren’t stressed at all. Instead, you were bouncing around everywhere, yelling about how excited you were to be a big sister.”

“Of course! Etsuko-oneechan showed me just how cool big sisters can be!”

“Heh. You’re right about that. Sumire wanted you to bring Kasumi to practice today, right? I think she mentioned some kind of meeting…”

“Yes!”

“Alright. Want to bring Kenichi along?”

“H-Huh?” Yuki’s cheeks turned a light pink. “W-Why?”

“Well, I mean, you’re bringing Kasumi to Yongen-Jaya. Figured you’d want to spend some time with Kenichi…”

“Right, right!” Yuki waved her hand rapidly. “That’s a great point! I’ll text him now!” She pulled out her phone.

Yuki: _Hello, Kenichi-kun. Are you busy at the moment? I have to bring Kasumi to practice today, and I wanted to know if you’d like to come with us, since we’d be going to the same place._

Kenichi: _Sure thing. Want to meet at the front gate?_

Yuki: _Okay! See you in a minute!”_

“Why do you always get so red when you talk to or text him?” Morgana tilted his head. “You remind me of Sumire.”

“Well… You know… Just… Uh… What was mom like, exactly?”

“Sumire was incredibly easy to fluster back in the day! Ren practically spent every waking moment trying to make her blush.”

“I don’t really see mom blush that often… Sometimes she does, but most of the time she’s so calm…”

“She’s grown a lot.” Morgana patted her shoulder. “Ever since she had you, she’s been the one in control.”

“In… control?” Yuki gave him a puzzled look.

“Nevermind. Let’s not keep Kenichi waiting!”

“Mhm!” 

With Kenichi on her mind, Yuki found herself happily skipping down the hallway and out of the school. 

“Hey Yuki-tan, Morgana.” Kenichi kicked himself off of the wall next to the school gate as Yuki stepped out.

“Hello, Kenichi-kun!”

“Meow.”

“Did he say hello? He did, right?” 

“He did! Yuki giggled and scratched Morgana’s ears. “How’s your essay coming along?”

“Done.” Kenichi shrugged. “Futaba and Hanako taught me that getting my work done ahead of time saves me a lot of work. I don’t have to think about it if it’s the first thing I do, so I get to spend my free time on my PC.”

“Right!?” Yuki’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward while they walked to the train station. “I always love to do my school work before anything else! I get super nervous when I have to think about finishing it, so I do it all at once!”

“I think Futaba called it… proactive.” 

“Hmmm… Maybe you could help me build a computer sometime, Kenichi-kun…” Yuki twiddled her thumbs.

“That’d be fun. Why not ask Futaba or Ren-jisan, though?”

Yuki said nothing, instead puffing her cheeks and looking away.

“Uh…”

“So she’s assertive like Sumire, too…” Morgana observed. 

The three remained silent as they got on the train and rode to Akira and Kasumi’s kindergarten. Yuki heard Akira yelling from the school’s yard as she stepped into the school gates, only to see a mess of brown hair a second later charging her.

“Onee-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” 

Gripping her like a vice, Kasumi hugged her big sister.

“Hi, Kasumi.”

“Mama said you were gonna take me to Hanako-basan!”

“That’s right. Mom’s busy today.”

“Mhm!” Kasumi peeked her head up at Yuki’s bag, and then over to Kenichi.

“Hi Mona! Hi Ken-kun!”

“Hey Kasumi!” Morgana meowed.

“Hi.” Kenichi waved. 

“How was school, Kasumi?” Yuki patted her sister’s head, ruffling her ponytail and ribbon.

“Good! I wanna practice now!”

“Of course. We’ll leave right now.”

“Yayyyyyyy!”

“Take my hand.” 

“Are you gonna hold Ken-kun’s hand?” Kasumi innocently looked up at her.

“W-Wh-” Yuki’s face burned red. “I don’t need to!”

“Awww…”

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind.” Kenichi shrugged.

“Kenichi-kun!”

“What?”

“L-Let’s just go… Come on Kasumi.”

“Onee-chan looks like mama!” 

“Poor girl…” Morgana sighed.

With Kasumi in-hand, Yuki pushed forward and made her way back to the train station, with Kenichi close behind. Kasumi curiously observed and mumbled about different things while they all sat on the train after being lucky enough to get seats, and Yuki tried to follow along with her gibberish. It was something she had grown used to, thanks to her parents. She couldn’t quite remember everything she had done when she was little, but they loved to talk about how she, Kasumi and Akira loved to talk about nonsensical things and make up stories about what they saw. Eventually, they found themselves at the Yongen-Jaya station, where they stepped off and made their way out. The narrow streets were both nostalgic and uncomfortable for Yuki, who begrudgingly accepted that she needed to constantly be surrounded by people, whether she was on a train or not. It scared her, though. People could easily hide in crowds… Kaiki could easily hide in a crowd... Sumire had taught her self-defense, but that didn’t mean she liked having to be around people all the time.

Yuki was fine with being around her parents, siblings, and close friends. That was enough human interaction for her. 

“Earth to Yuki-tan…”

Yuki blinked and found Kenichi mere inches from her face as she jumped back and looked around. They were standing outside Hanako’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Studio.

“Huh? Oh… I must’ve spaced out…”

“You okay onee-chan?” Kasumi tugged on her skirt, whimpering.

“I’m okay. Sorry.”

“Don’t scare us like that.” Morgana tapped her shoulder. “You’re lucky Ken led the way.”

“Hm?” Yuki looked down and found her left hand intertwined with his right. “Ah…”

…

…

…

“Tomato!” Kasumi giggled as Yuki slowly pulled her hand back, red as can be while Ken played it cool, pretending to cough.

“Let’s head in… You have your leotard, right, Kasumi?”

“Mhm!” Kasumi patted her bag. 

“Okay, that’s good.”

With a deep breath, Yuki led her sister inside, where Hanako stood in one corner, wearing her signature yoga pants, shirt and jacket combo. Around a dozen young girls were all practicing on the large mat, with their moves ranging from stretches to dances.

“Oh! Hello Kasumi-chan, Yuki-chan, Morgana-chan, Ken!”

“Hanako-basan!” Kasumi excitedly ran up to her while the rest exchanged greetings. “Practice!”

“Mhm! Go get changed and we can start, okay?”

“Yup yup!” Kasumi darted off.

“Sumire told me you’d be bringing Kasumi-chan today!” Hanako clapped as she looked at Yuki. “Thank you!”

“Kasumi really enjoys this, even though she just started… It’s like she’s a natural.” Yuki ran her hand through her hair.

“Hehehe. She is your mother’s child, after all!”

“I’m surprised she can understand most of these concepts… I don’t perform, but I’ve looked into what rhythmic gymnasts do during their day-to-day schedules. It’s a lot of work.”

“It is!” Hanako nodded. “When you’re at Kasumi-chan’s age, though, it’s much more about feeling rather than thinking! She is learning the basic concepts of movement by letting her body flow with the apparatus. The ribbon is the safest one for her to use right now, too!”

“Sakiya-obasan has mentioned she’s gotten more bruises than she could count with the clubs…”

“The clubs are especially brutal!” 

“If Sakiya-basan was a Phantom Thief, she’d be beating up bad guys left and right with those things.” Kenichi chuckled. 

“I still think about that sometimes…” Morgana stated dreamingly. 

“Morgana-chan is happy today, isn’t he?” Hanako walked up to him and pet his head. “We’ve known each other for such a long time, but you haven’t aged a bit, kitty!”

“That’s because he’s special!” Yuki spewed out on instinct.

“He is!”

“I am!” Morgana meowed.

“He’s especially soft!”

“Yup!”

“Has Futaba been busy today?” Kenichi interjected. 

“A little busier than usual!” Hanako replied. 

“Hmm… I’m gonna go help her out.”

“Thank you so much, Ken!” 

“Oh… See you soon, Kenichi-kun!” Yuki held her hand up in a wave as Kenichi made his way out.

“I’m readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” Barely a few seconds later, Kasumi came running out in her violet leotard, heading straight for Yuki. 

“Do you have your ribbon?” Yuki caught her sister and spun her around.

“Yup!”

“Okay. Show me what you can do, Kasumi!”

“Step out onto the mat, Kasumi-chan.” Hanako bent down and pointed forward.

“Hmmmhmhmhm…” Kasumi walked to an open space on the mat and immediately adjusted herself so that she was posed to begin. Her stance was near-identical to the one Yuki remembered her own mother using during the 2024 Olympics.

“Kasumi…”

“Start!”

The performance that followed was nowhere near as graceful or well-orchestrated at Sumire’s performance, but even Yuki could tell that Kasumi was putting a lot of heart into performing. She put her all into every little hop, skip and jump she did, and the entire time she kept the ribbon from tangling up, letting it constantly flow. It was a basic and rudimentary performance, but it was full of character regardless. 

“Good work,Kasumi-chan!” Hanako applauded as she finished. “I can tell that you’re becoming more comfortable with the ribbon!’  
“Yeah!” Kasumi bounced up and down, twirling the ribbon around her. “Super light!”

“Do you want to do another round? The biggest step is mastering the basics, after all!”

“I’m going again!” Kasumi hopped backward, only to fall on her bottom.

“Are you okay, Kasumi?” Yuki ran up to her and bent down.

“Mhm!”

Despite falling, Kasumi had a wide grin on her face, her eyes brimming with excitement and determination. 

“That’s my little sis!” Yuki picked her up and patted her head. 

“I love you onee-chan!” 

“I love you too, Kasumi.”

“Don’t forget about me!” Morgana jumped into Kasumi’s arms. 

“Morgana-chan…” Hanako tapped her foot. “I can’t have you wandering around…”

“Ah! Crap! Sorry!” As fast as he had leaped into her arms, he jumped and scurried into Yuki’s bag. 

“Do you not like Mona?” Kasumi gave her a sad glance.

“I love him, but I don’t want my other students getting distracted.”

“Oh…”

“We’ll get to spend as much time as we want with Mona after practice, okay?” Yuki held up her pinky. “Promise!”

“C-Can we get ice cream too?”

“You can get all the ice cream you want if you do good!”

“Yay!” Kasumi hooked her pinky around Yuki’s. “Promise!”

“Good! Now listen to Hanako-obasan!”

“Mhm!” Kasumi picked up her ribbon and took a few more steps back. “Hanako-basan!”

“Show me a couple of good pivots, Kasumi-chan! Take it slow, unless you think you can go faster!”

“A spinnie?”

“Yes!”

“Spinnie!” Kasumi bent her left left behind her slightly and balanced herself on the toes of her right foot. With one good spin, she managed to do a pivot. It took her several minutes, but she managed to pull off a few more that could pass as pivots. After the fifth, she fell down again, exhausted.

“I can’t do it anymore…” 

“That’s fine! You did great!” Hanako beamed a smile at her. 

“Hanako-obasan is right!” Yuki picked Kasumi up again. “You did really good!”

“Onee-chan!”

“You’re going to be just like mom one day, Kasumi.” Yuki wrapped her arms around her and picked her up. 

“Can I have ice cream now…?”

“Yes. We can have ice cream. You just need to change.”

“Okay!”

“She really is just like Sumire…” Morgana sighed as she hopped out of Yuki’s arms and ran off to change. “The bold side, at least.” 

“How many sides does mom have…?”

“Sumire always acted differently around Ren-kun!” Hanako winked. “She also completely changed when she stepped out to perform!”

“Mom did have a different look on her face when I watched those videos…” Yuki cupped her hand under her chin. “Hmmm…”

“Ice cream!” Kasumi re-emerged faster than the three could have anticipated, now dressed in what she was wearing before. 

“Guess I’ll save the thought…”

“Good work today, Kasumi-chan!” Hanako gave her two thumbs up. “I’ll see you in a few days. Remember, breaks are good!”

“Mhm! See you, Hanako-basan!”

“Goodbye, Hanako-obasan.” Yuki wrapped her hand around Kasumi’s. “See you soon!”

“Bye!” Morgana waved a paw and meowed. 

The trio made their way out to the backstreets of Leblanc, only to stop after several steps.

“Kasumi, are you okay?”

“I’m okay!”

“Hmmm… You’re limping.”

Kasumi tilted her head, puzzled.

“You did fall a few times… Hold on.” Yuki bent down and pulled the sock on Kasumi’s left leg down, revealing a bruise forming. “Let’s take you to Dr. Takemi.”

“Who’s that?”

“Dr. Takemi is a very good doctor who will help you!”

“Ummm… Okay!”

Pulling her sock back up, Yuki led Kasumi to Takemi’s Medical Clinic.”

“Hel- Oh?” Takemi raised an eyebrow as she saw Yuki and Kasumi step in. 

“Hello, Dr. Takemi!” Yuki waved as she stood up. Takemi wasn’t one to change her look up much, wearing the same lab coat and green dress that she always did. A good splash of makeup and lipstick covered any signs of aging, and to Yuki, she seemed just as cool as ever. 

“Yuki-chan and Kasumi-chan. What brings you here?”

“Kasumi bruised herself while practicing.” Yuki pointed at Kasumi’s leg.

“I see. What was she practicing?”

“Rhymmic gymnastics!” Kasumi happily exclaimed.

“Ah.” Takemi calmly nodded. “Do you want to be like your mama?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Oh… What a handful.” Takemi couldn’t hide the smile forming on her face. “Step into the examination room.”

“Good to know Dr. Takemi hasn’t changed a bit…” Morgana whispered from Yuki’s bag. 

“Doesn’t mom still call her and thank her sometimes?”

“Yup. She _did_ help a lot. You wouldn’t be here without her.”

“I want a lollipop!” Kasumi exclaimed as she stepped into the room.

“Now now,” Takemi motioned for her to sit down. “We have to see what’s wrong, first.”

“Onee-chan says I hurt my leg!” 

“Could you show me?”

“Mhm!” Kasumi pulled down her sock, revealing the bruise.

“Hmmm…” Takemi felt her leg. “It’s just a bruise, which is good… Does it hurt?”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Interesting… Yuki-chan, could you pinch your sister’s ear?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just need to verify something…”

With a look of confusion, Yuki pinched Kasumi’s ear, which elicited a cry from Kasumi. “Owie!”

“Alright. That’s good. Relax your legs, Kasumi-chan.”

“Okayyyy.”

Takemi rolled her chair back toward the desk in the room, pulling out a small tool. She lightly tapped Kasumi’s knees with it, which made her kick her legs up.

“Hmmm…” 

“Am I gonna be okay?”

“You’ll be just fine.” Takemi laughed. “I doubt this will be the last time you come to visit me, either. Your father used to come by often.”

“Dad mentioned that he used to visit you a lot…”

“He’d come to me with bruises and other crazy injuries sometimes… He really was reckless. He helped me out, though, so I let it slide. If you want to be reckless like your father, Kasumi-chan, we’ll need to make a deal. I’ll make you test new… icky medicine!”

“No!” Kasumi covered her mouth. 

“Well, if you don’t want that, then I’m going to need you to be more careful, okay?”

“Mhm!”

“That’s all, then. Just apply some ice to the bruise every couple of hours and it should heal in no time.”

“Thank you, Dr. TakemI!” Yuki bowed. 

“Just getting to see your smiling faces was enough for me. Head on home now, it’s getting late.”

“Right!”

“Thank you doc!” Kasumi smiled. 

“Oh right…” Takemi reached into her pocket and pulled out a lollipop. “Here you go.”

“Yay!”

“Tell the guinea pig and his guinea pig I said hello.” 

“Ginnee… pig?”

With a smirk, Takemi sent them on their way.

* * *

“Hello, Futaba-obasan!” Yuki waved as she stepped inside Leblanc with Kasumi.

“Oh hey Yuki-chan, Kasumi-chan, Morgana! Ken mentioned you two were around.” Futaba gestured a wave. 

“Hi Futaba-basan!”

“Hey.”

“We just wanted to stop in and say hello before we go home.” Yuki looked around for Kenichi.

“That warms my old heart!” Futaba posed dramatically.

“You’re not old, Futaba-obasan.”

“I’m definitely not young!”

“Is Kenichi-kun…”

“He’s up playing video games. I could knock out the power, if you want.” 

“There’s no need to do that.”

“Hmmmm… Fine. Old fashioned way it is!” Futaba stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to the staircase. “Hey Ken! Yuki-chan’s here to say goodbye!”

A few seconds later, Kenichi appeared halfway down the staircase. 

“You’re all done with practice?”

“Yup!” Kasumi nodded. “I get ice cream now!”

“I see… Sorry for not sticking around. I kinda just…”

“It’s fine, Kenichi-kun! I don’t care about that. I just wanted to say goodbye.” Yuki shook her head.

“Ah…”

“Oh young love…” Futaba swooned. 

“Futaba-obasan…”

“Just kidding!”

“If you stay you get ice cream!” Kasumi stuck out her tongue toward Kenichi. 

“Right. I’ll remember that.” Kenichi faintly smiled. 

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Same to you. Goodbye, Yuki-tan, Kasumi-chan, Morgana.”

“Bye bye!”

“See you whippersnappers around!” Futaba snickered. “Keep ‘em in line, Morgana.”

“Always. See you later, Futaba, Kenichi.”

Exchanging another set of waves, the siblings and their guardian made their way out of Leblanc, stopping in Shibuya central to get ice cream before making their way home via train. By the time they arrived, Ren had prepared dinner for them while Akira watched and learned. Sumire arrived a few minutes after the sisters, and the family ate together. Once they finished, the siblings gathered in Yuki’s room, eager to hear the next part of the story. Meanwhile, Ren and Sumire went upstairs to take a short rest.

“Urh…. I’m exhausted.” Ren rested his head on Sumire’s lap. “Feels like I haven’t done this in years…”

“It has been a while.” Sumire smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “I missed this feeling.”

“We don’t get much time to ourselves anymore…”

‘No, but we knew what we were getting into.”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t trade those three for the world.” Ren’s grey eyes met Sumire’s red ones, and the couple smiled. 

“Do you ever miss those days, where it was just the two of us, Ren?” 

“Are you looking for my honest answer?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm… I do, yeah. I love Yuki, Akira and Kasumi just as much as I love you, but…”

“You don’t feel free, right?”

“Mmm… It’s a lingering feeling that I wish would go away. I mean, I wanted to raise them with you, and I’m having a blast doing it. I guess it’s one of those things that stays with you forever. The question crops up in my mind every now and then, but honestly, we did everything there was to do when it was just you and me. We worked our butts off and took the world together, so…”

“Why aren’t you satisfied?”

“Yeah.”

“We really do feel the same way.” Sumire lightly giggled. “I thought we had done everything together after I won the gold, but I knew I wanted to have a child with you, to raise our own beautiful, happy kids together. I don’t think we’ll ever be satisfied until they all accomplish their dreams.”

“Ah… So we’re in it for the long haul.”

“So what if we are?” 

“Haha… You’re right. I don’t regret a thing. Don’t let me.”

“I won’t.”

“Yuki is telling the other two about when you were pregnant with them, right?”

“Yes.” Sumire motioned for Ren to lean up before wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. “Listening to them tell me about it is so cute…”

“Hehe… Feels like just yesterday we were scrambling in preparation.”

“I can’t wait until Akira and Kasumi tell us about it before they go to bed tonight.”

“Mmmm… Let’s just relax until then. We deserve a break every once in a while, right?”

“Mhm!” Sumire giggled and pushed Ren down onto the couch before laying on top of him. “Let’s stay like this for a while…”

Ren didn’t reply. Instead, he closed his eyes and let the feeling of Sumire lying on him overtake him, the pressure of her body as well as her soft touch and smell washing away his stress as they synced their breathing. 

“Story time~!” Kasumi raced Akira to claim the throne that was Yuki’s bed, with the siblings grabbing at each other as they worked their way up.

“Let’s see…” Yuki looked at her laptop. “We left off when Shizuku, Kenichi-kun and I all formally met, so now…”

* * *

_May 2031, Past_

As the twins developed within Sumire, she became more irritable, even though she tried her best not to be. On top of that, her body changed even more than it had during her pregnancy with Yuki. She gained more weight, had varicose veins, bloating, and swelling. At one point, Yuki heard her talking to Ren about her dietician, as well as the frequent appointments she made with different doctors. In May, Sumire went on leave from being a teacher, opting to focus on keeping herself healthy. Ren had made plenty of money, so she wasn’t worried about that. Morgana, Ren, and Yuki herself were all surprised at how quickly Sumire’s mood changed after she revealed that she was pregnant. Every morning, she’d wake up nauseous, and she became very groggy. Her belly got big, _fast_ , and her baby bump became more noticeable much earlier on than her last pregnancy. Working with Hiraguchi and Murakami, who were as youthful as ever, as well as Sakiya, Sumire managed to create a very specific, lightweight exercise routine to keep herself in the best shape that she could. It didn’t take long for her to realize that carrying two babies was much more difficult than carrying one. 

That wouldn’t stop her, though. 

She was Sumire Amamiya, after all. Winner of the 2024 All-Around Individual Rhythmic Gymnastics in Paris, proud mother, and wife of Ren, the man who shot two gods.

Two babies were… Nothing.

* * *

_June 21st, 2031, Past_

“Welcome, welcome!” Sumire’s doctor motioned for the family to sit down as they stepped into her office. She appeared to be in her mid-fifties, sporting a white lab coat and jet black hair. Takemi recommended they see a doctor in a more formal setting as the pregnancy progressed, but Sumire was still free to stop by for check-ups. She didn’t have all of the necessary equipment to monitor Sumire properly, and preferred that she was properly monitored with ultrasound.

“How are you all doing?”

“Good!” Yuki immediately responded. “Hi Doctor!”

“Have you been helping your mama every day?”

“Mhm!” She beamed a smile.”Mama is working really hard! She has my little siblings in her belly!”

“That’s right. Any new difficulties, Amamiya-san?” The Doctor turned her eyes to Sumire.

“Nothing substantial that I can feel.” Sumire calmly shook her head.

“That’s good. This ultrasound you’ll be getting today is quite important. We’ll find out several things today. Some may be good developments, others bad. Which would you like to hear first?”

“I’m pretty used to hearing the bad news first.” Ren chuckled. “Err, possible bad news.”

“Let’s get the risks out of the way.” Sumire nodded.

“Sure.” The Doctor folded her legs. “After this ultrasound, we’ll likely be able to see if there are any abnormalities in the twins' development. These range from chromosomal abnormalities to physical ones.”

“Oh…” A dark shadow encompassed Sumire’s face as she frowned, tightly clenching Ren’s hand.

“ _But_ , given your past, I wouldn’t worry too much. You’re an ex-rhythmic gymnast, and you know how to keep yourself healthy. On top of that, your first pregnancy went extremely well.” The Doctor pointed at some papers on her desk. “Takemi-san still likes to brag about it.”

“Eheh…” Ren nervously laughed. “The birth was a little intense…”

“That’s why you’ll be admitted to the Tokyo General Maternity Ward starting at week 37.” She pointed to Yoshizawa-san again. “Insurance will cover everything, so you don’t need to worry about that. Premature birth is twice as likely with twins, and we wouldn’t want another incident like with your adorable little one over there.” She smiled at Yuki. 

“I see. That’s okay.” Sumire sternly nodded. “Ren here likes to take risks, but I don’t want to gamble on this.”

“Hey now…” Ren rubbed the back of his head. “I was going to suggest that, anyway…”

“Mama has to stay at the hospital?” Yuki lightly kicked her legs back and forth, a puzzled look on her face.

“She will in a few months.” Ren patted her head. “We can visit every day, though.”

“For the babies?”

“Yes.”

“Okay!”

“How mature.” The Doctor giggled. “The good news is, on the other hand, is that we’ll likely be able to ascertain the sex of the twins.”

“Really?” The entire family yelled simultaneously, a sparkle in their eyes.

“Depending on their position, but there’s a high chance we’ll be able to tell.”

“Chihaya-chan gave us a prediction, but I’d love to see what you can find!” Sumire exclaimed, slowly standing up.

“Very well. You’re all free to join us!” The Doctor flashed a smile at Ren and Yuki.

“Understood.”

“Okay!” Yuki nodded. “I wanna talk to papa for a second!”

“Hm?” Ren looked down at her. “Sure.” He looked back up at Sumire. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay!” Sumire beamed a smile and joined her doctor. 

After the two stepped out of the room, Yuki slyly unzipped her bag.

“Did you hear all that, Mona?”

“Yeah.” The cat whispered. “This is both frightening and exciting… Risky, like a heist…”

“You snuck Morgana in?” Ren looked at his daughter with both shock and pride. “I swear we left him in the car!”

“Heheheh.” Yuki snickered. “Phantom Thief.”

“Ugh…” Ren sighed. “You got me there. Just… don’t let him get spotted.”

“Me? Spotted? C’mon Ren!”

“Yeah yeah…”

“Um… Papa… Doctor said bad things could happen?” Yuki’s mood quickly shifted as she clenched her dress with both hands.

“Yuki…” Morgana frowned.

“...” Ren smiled and gently placed his hand on both of hers. “She did, but this is mama we’re talking about. Did I ever tell you how happy she was when she found out about you?”

“Ummm… Nuh-uh.” Yuki shook her head.

“Ah…” 

Ren looked down at his adorable daughter, who had puffed her cheeks and was looking up at him worriedly 

“It was in September, after mama won her gold medal. I heard her in the bathroom, and she led me out to the living room, where she told me she was pregnant with you. She was so happy, Yuki. So, so happy. My heart exploded when she told me. She did everything she could to make sure you’d be a healthy baby, and I mean _everything_. Right now, with the twins in her belly, it’s no different. Mama wants your little siblings to be strong and healthy, and she’ll do everything she can to make that happen. Morgana and I will, too. We’re basically halfway there, too. You’ve been helping mama too, so if you just keep doing what you’re doing, everything will be A-okay!”

“Papa!” Yuki quickly turned and buried her face in Ren’s chest. “I wanna help more! I wanna be a good big sis!”

“You’ll be the best big sis ever, alongside Etsuko, okay?”

“Mhm!”

“We’re all doing our best to help mama out, and sometimes, that’s all we can do.”

“Ren’s right, Yuki.” Morgana perked his head out of her bag. “Sumire will be just fine, as will the babies.”

“Mona… Papa…”

“Alright!” Ren stood up. “Let’s join the others!”

“Okay!”

Walking to the ultrasound room, Yuki held her bag tight, and, with Ren, found Sumire laying down, midway through the scan. They both looked at the screen, and Sumire looked over at them.

“Hi, Yuki.” Sumire giggled and stroked Yuki’s hair gently as she walked up to her. “You’re going to have a little brother _and_ a little sister!”

“REALLY?” Yuki’s jaw dropped as she found herself bouncing up and down. “A boy and a girl?”

“Yes! They’re perfectly healthy, too!” Sumire pointed at the screen.

“Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

“Phew…” Ren let out an extremely long, deep breath he had been holding in. “A boy and a girl, huh?”

“Your wife is an incredibly strong woman, Amamiya-san.” The Doctor laughed. “Almost feels like there’s something else pushing her to succeed…”

“If Sumire wants something, she’ll stop at nothing to get it.” Ren walked up to his wife. “This is great news.”

“Mhm! I’m so excited!”

“Me too!” Yuki jumped. “Me too!”

“A boy… huh…”

“Did I just hear meowing…?” The Doctor looked around.

“Yuki…” Ren glanced at his daughter.

“Oh! Um… Meow?” Yuki motioned her hands like cat paws.

“D’aww…”

“Hmmm…” The Doctor motioned for Sumire to stand up. “That’s all for today. I’ll see you all next week.” 

“Next week?” Ren tilted his head.

“We’re going to be doing weekly check-ups now!” Sumire excitedly nodded. 

“I see… Makes sense. Thanks, Doctor.”

“It’s my pleasure. Goodbye now!”

“Bye-bye!”

With the check-up complete, the family made their way home for the evening. During the drive, the family made small talk about Kenichi, Futaba, Hanako, Ryuji, Shizuku, and Sakiya. In the months since becoming friends with Kenichi, Yuki and him had bonded fast, finding mutual interest in just about everything. Their imaginations were the limit, and they had many, many ideas. Futaba and Hanako adored having Yuki and Shizuku come over to play with their little boy, and everyone was happy to keep each other company. Yuki went on and on about the things Kenichi and her made up together, and both Ren, Sumire and Morgana happily nodded along, satisfied with seeing her smile.

* * *

_June 21st, 2031, Night_

After preparing fish for Morgana and two separate curry meals, one for himself and Yuki, and one for Sumire exclusively, Ren helped Sumire get comfortable as they all sat together to discuss something incredibly important.

“We’re gonna name my little brother and sister!” Yuki cheered. “Right!?”

“Yes!” Sumire nodded and patted her head

“I thought you’d already have names picked out…” Ren rubbed his hand against Sumire’s stomach. 

“We’re naming our little girl Kasumi.”

“Right.”

“You can name the boy, though!”

“Really?” Ren’s eyes widened. “I thought you’d want to name him…”

“I know how much you want to name him, Ren.” Sumire giggled. “You’ve talked about it before!”

“Heh… Well…” 

“You should name him after me!” Morgana boasted. “Little Morgana!”

“There’s only room for one Morgana.” Ren shook his head.

“You’re naming little sis after Kasumi-obasan?” Yuki clung to Sumire’s arm.

“Yes. I’ve been planning to.”

“You’re so nice mama!”

“If we ever have another, you can name them, Yuki!”

“Another?” Ren felt his wallet scream. “But you said…”

Sumire promptly shushed him, giving him a sly wink. 

“So, think of any names?”

“Hmmm…” Ren cupped his hand under his chin. “How about Akira?”

“Ohhh! I love it! It sounds like it’d suit you, too!” 

“Heh… Well, it’s one of the names my parents originally thought of.”

“Akira and Kasumi…” Morgana purred as he sat on Yuki’s shoulder. “Do we all mutually agree?”

“I do!” Yuki raised her hand.

“So do I!” Sumire gently grasped Yuki’s hand.

“It’s unanimous, then.” Ren did the same, and Morgana held out his paw. “Akira and Kasumi.”

* * *

The remaining months until Sumire’s scheduled delivery were the most difficult, with the family all having to pitch in to take care of Sumire throughout the third trimester. Futaba and Hanako frequently came over to be with her as she began to find it difficult to even do mundane tasks. By August, her stomach was incredibly rounded and large, and Sakiya couldn’t help but poke fun at her in the most sisterly way possible. Sumire retorted by pointing out Sakiya’s rounding stomach, and the two found solace in their mutual struggle. Yuki helped Sumire however she could, whether it meant helping her bathe, bringing her food and water, or walking her to the bathroom. In exchange for helping her all the time, Sumire let her feel the twins kicking.

“They’re moving!” Yuki exclaimed as she rested a hand on Sumire’s stomach during a mid-August afternoon. “Papa!”

“I know.” Ren followed Yuki’s lead, as did Morgana. “I remember the last time this happened…”

“When I was in mama’s belly?”

“Yeah. You were a real kicker.”

“It feels so strange…” Sumire took a deep breath. “But knowing that they’re both moving is a relief…”

“Mama… You’re going to the hospital soon, right?”

“That’s right, Yuki. You’ll get to visit every day!”

“Sakiya-obasan is having her baby in November…”

“Mhm. This house is going to get very busy soon!”

“Instead of one crying baby, we’re going to have two… Goodbye, beauty sleep…” Morgana whimpered.

“Goodbye, savings…”

“Hello Aki and Kasumi!” Yuki giggled. 

“Bathroom…” Sumire groaned.

“Oh!” Yuki jumped off the couch. “Let’s go, mama!”

“Thank you!”

Every day was like this, and before long, Sumire traveled to the Maternity Ward in Tokyo. Time slowed from here on out, with Daisuke, Masami, Akane, Shinichi, Uzumi, and others visiting her as she waited. Yuki, Ren, and Morgana’s visits helped stem off Sumire’s boredom, and the family found themselves staying overnight on the weekends. Then during a Sunday on September 20th, 2031, the promised day finally came. Sumire went into labor, and was put under anesthesia. Ren called Futaba to come and watch Yuki, which she gladly did. Ren was allowed in the room to observe Sumire’s progress and be with her the entire time.

“Futaba-obasan, what’s going on?” Tears welled in Yuki’s eyes as she waited nervously.

“Sumire is in labor, Yuki-chan! Your little bro and sis are going to finally spawn.”

“Is mama going to be okay?”

“She’ll be fine!”

With a smile, Futaba bent down and enveloped Yuki in a hug. “Ren’s probably already told you, but Sumire’s super strong! Like, super high level! You need to be strong too!”

“Y-Yeah!” Yuki shivered.

“This is it, Yuki!” Morgana whispered from her bag. “Just wait a bit longer!”

In the procedure room, the doctors ended up needing to perform a c-section. Sumire looked at Ren nervously, unable to feel her body from the chest down. 

“We’ve done this once before, and we’re doing it again, Sumire. Just stay calm, okay?” Ren’s grey orbs flashed, the only thing visible as he had to cover his face with a blue hospital mask. “Think about our trip to Destinyland with Yuki. Bali. All the time we spent with Yuki. Her first words, our wedding…”

Ren continued to comfort her as the doctors did their work, and time seemed to infinitely slow down as she waited. The lack of feeling in her body was bizarre, but she kept herself focused on Ren. Soon after, she heard a cry. Ren turned to look before focusing on Sumire again. 

“Sumire! It’s our boy! Akira’s here!”

“Ah…” Sumire managed a weak smile as she heard her son’s cries. A few minutes later, she heard another set of cries, and she knew they belonged to Kasumi.

“And there’s Kasumi!” Ren cheered. For a moment, he moved out of her field-of-view, but before long he returned holding two healthy babies, tears streaming down his cheeks. Both were bald, and Sumire instantly felt overwhelmed with joy as Ren helped her hold the both of them against her chest. 

“We did it, Sumire. We did it! You did great! I’m so proud of you!”

“Akira…” She looked at her little boy. “Kasumi…” 

“We’re a family of six now, Sumire.” Ren brushed her bangs with his hand and kissed her forehead. “They both weigh around 2.8 kilograms. Perfectly healthy, too. They’re adorable…”

“Show… Yuki…”

“We will soon. Just rest for now.”

Sumire closed her eyes and felt her two new children against her chest. The family was moved to a post-op recovery room, where Futaba and Yuki were allowed in.

“Mam-” Ren shushed Yuki as he picked her up. “Mama is very tired.” He whispered. “We need to be super quiet. Like Phantom Thieves!”

“O-Okay!” Yuki whispered back.

“Look at that…” Futaba smirked as she walked up to Sumire. “Two new players! Too bad Hanako was busy with some students…”

“Hi Futaba, Yuki.” Sumire smiled, still holding the newborns. “This is your big sister, Akira, Kasumi.” She looked at Yuki.

“H-Hi Akira… Kasumi…” Yuki lightly waved. Ren smiled as he rubbed a tear from her eye. “You’re really a big sis, now.”

“I hope Mona can see them soon…” Yuki whispered.

“He will, don’t worry.”

Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, Sumire quickly recovered after staying in the hospital for a few more days. She attributed it to Chihaya’s fortunes, and over the period, both Ren’s parents and her own visited. Within the first day, she breastfed them for the first time, discovering that, luckily, neither were quite as hungry as Yuki. After staying in the hospital for a week, the Amamiya family, now of six, was allowed the return home. Next...

* * *

_March 14th, 2037, Present_

“It’s bedtime!” Sumire burst into Yuki’s room with a smile.

“Awwww! Not again mama!” Kasumi cried. “Onee-chan was just getting to the fun part!”

“How far did you get, Yuki?” Sumire eagerly walked over to her eldest.

“I just got past when Aki and Kasumi were born.”

“How wonderful! I’ll never forget that day…”

“Papa was with you the whooooole time!” Akira exclaimed. 

“He was!” Sumire clapped. “I’m so happy Morgana and Yuki are telling you about this!”

Walking over to Yuki’s bed, she scooped the twins up in both her arms. 

“You’ll get to hear about what you two were like as babies tomorrow, though!”

“Aww…” The twins groaned. 

“Sumire’s right! It’s time for bed!” Morgana announced.

“Don’t worry!” Yuki stood up and hugged both Sumire and the twins, her arms barely reaching around their sides. “I’ll tell you both all about it tomorrow!”

“Okay…” They begrudgingly agreed.

“Look at you all.” Ren smirked, leaning against the bedroom door. 

“What are you waiting for, Ren!” Sumire motioned for him to join them by bobbing her head. 

“I love you guys.” Ren joined his family in a group hug along with Morgana, who hopped onto Yuki’s shoulders. 

As Yuki found herself squished between her parents and siblings, she felt a warmth brim up in her chest, an irreplaceable warmth that she valued more than anything.

She loved her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A DeathKnight Product. Ion. 
> 
> Things are pretty slow going, but hey, what can you do. This is basically a celebration of completing the main fic, after all. Figuring out the dynamic between the three kids is fun, as is hopping back and forth between past and present versions of the kids.


	4. Double Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki continues to tell Akira and Kasumi about her life when they were babies.

_ March 15th, 2037 _

Yuki woke up to find a heavy weight against her stomach, one that she had grown used to through the years. Morgana gently purred in his sleep as she blinked, reached over for her glasses, put them on, and grabbed her phone. It was a Sunday. Kasumi and Akira didn’t have practice, which meant tha-

“Onee-chan!”

Morgana jumped up as Kasumi burst into the room wearing her pajamas. 

“Good morning, Kasumi…” Yuki found herself yawning as her little sister climbed onto her bed and bounced up and down excitedly.

“No school or practice today! We can do story time alllllllllllllll day!”

“Mmmm…” Yuki stretched her back and arms, finding herself waking up more and more as Kasumi’s radiant smile lit up the room. “We have to eat breakfast first…”

“Mama is making pancakes!”

“Oh…” Yuki looked at her phone again, only to find that she had slept in. 

“Mama said you can sleep! I really want to hear the story though!”

“That’s okay.” Yuki shook her head. “I like waking up early.”

“That’s right!” Morgana snickered. “Early to bed, early to rise!”

“Aren’t you tired from practicing, Kasumi?”

“Nope!” Kasumi giggled and hugged Yuki, squishing Morgana inbetween.

“You really are like mom, huh?”

“I wanna be like mama!”

“I’m glad you’re having fun. Let’s go eat.”

“Okayyyy!”

Leading Yuki by the hand, Kasumi hopped off the bed and guided her to the kitchen, where Sumire, Ren and Akira were all working together to make breakfast. 

“Good morning, Yuki!” Sumire turned her head and greeted her eldest with a smile. 

“Good morning mom, dad, Aki.”

“Hi Onee-chan!” Akira licked a bit of pancake batter from his finger.

“Hey, don’t do that in front of mom!” Ren playfully ruffled his hair. “Mornin’, Yuki.”

“But you said I could....”

“Eh?” Ren froze up as he felt Sumire’s eyes piercing through him.

“When did you teach Akira that it was okay to play with his food,  _ honey? _ ”

“Uh… I didn’t…?”

“Ren…”

“I’m sorry!”

The three kids and Morgana laughed as Sumire pinched Ren’s ear and pulled him down to look her in the eye, only to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Mama always wins!” Kasumi pointed.

“It wasn’t always like this…” Ren sighed. “Anywho… The pancakes are basically done. We have chocolate chip and regular, old-fashioned pancakes. I might’ve added a secret ingredient…”

“Curry sauce!” Akira announced.

“No. Maybe. No.” 

“Futaba-basan said you like curry everything, papa!”

“Well, I  _ do _ , but you can’t have curry-flavored everything all the time. Variety is the spice of life and all that.”

“I’m telling Futaba-basan!”

“Whaaaat?” Ren reeled back. “C’mon…”

“Now now Aki.” Yuki rested a hand on his shoulder. “Kasumi wants us all to eat so I can continue my story.”

“Oh yeah! I wanna hear more!”

In a flash, Akira had completely changed his focus, and was staring at Yuki with starry eyes.

“Good! Then let’s eat!”

“Pancakes!”

“Tuna!”

Gathering up a series of plates as well as the food, the family ate breakfast together, enjoying their time together on the one day off they all had. Yuki and Sumire both ate a small stack of pancakes, while Kasumi, Akira and Ren all ate a standard portion. Morgana happily ate his tuna-flavored cat food in the meantime.

“Yuki, would you mind if we listened while you tell Akira and Kasumi your story?” Sumire wrapped her arm around Ren and pulled him close after setting down her spoon, her meal finished. 

“Oh, um, sure!” 

“This oughta be fun.” Ren chuckled. 

“I was going to tell Aki and Kasumi about when they were babies and stuff…” Yuki tapped her fingers together.

“Wonderful! I can remember it like yesterday…” Sumire giggled. 

Ren chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Heh… I remember the sleepless nights, the crying…”

“But then there was the snuggling and playing!” Sumire elbowed his side playfully.

“Yeah I know. Look at them now!”

“I wanna hear more!” Kasumi clapped her hands excitedly, covered in syrup.

“Me too!” Akira laughed, his mouth covered in chocolate.

“You two need to wash up first…” Sumire sighed.

“Hehehe… These two aren’t ever going to stop being trouble!” Morgana licked his paws. 

“Okay!” Yuki clapped her cheeks with her hands and stood up. “I’m going to get ready while you two wash up!”

“‘Kayyyyy!”

“Wait for me!” 

While Sumire rounded up Akira and Kasumi to clean up, Ren joined Yuki and Morgana to prepare in her room, which only really involved Yuki opening her laptop and moving some pillows around on the bed.

“So how much do you remember, Yuki?” Ren curiously looked at his daughter’s laptop while she sat down, with Morgana perching himself on the desk.

“Everything.”

“Just like Futaba, then.” 

“Mhm.”

“This assignment was to cover what you think is important to you, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re so sweet.” Ren smirked. “You love the two troublemakers so much that everything about them is important to you.”

“They’re my little brother and sister!”

“And you’re the best big sister they could ask for.”

“Don’t let Etsuko hear you saying that!” Morgana laughed.

“I only learned how to be a good big sister thanks to Etsuko-chan…”

“You’ve helped us so much, Yuki. Seriously.” Ren smirked and ruffled his daughters hair. 

“Thanks dad.”

Yuki smiled as Ren sat down on the corner of her bed and patted her head.

“All clean~!” Kasumi cheered as she burst into the room, with Sumire and Akira right behind her. The three of them joined Ren on Yuki’s bed, with the two kids sitting on their parents laps. 

“Story time!”

“I’m looking forward to this!” Sumire giggled. “I’ll fill in anything you miss, Yuki!”

“Okay mom!”

Yuki took a deep breath, curled her fingers repeatedly, and began typing.

* * *

_ October 2031, Past _

In the weeks following Kasumi and Akira’s birth, Sumire was granted three months leave from work, while Ren elected to take a few weeks off and re-arrange his appointment schedule with his clients. Yuki returned to school the day after they were born, with her parents encouraging her to be a good girl. The family quickly found out how daunting of a task it was to raise two babies, with Sumire taking the brunt of the exhaustion as she breastfed them and recovered from the pregnancy. Ren was with her at all times, which alleviated a lot of her stress. Morgana didn’t leave Yuki’s side, and the duo alternated between going to school together and helping Ren and Sumire. Despite the difficulties that all of them faced, they were ecstatic to have two new members in the Amamiya family. After the second week home, friends and family began to visit or say hello over call to Akira and Kasumi, who were both extremely curious babies. Akane, Shinichi and Uzumi visited for the second time, along with Masami and Daisuke, who had all come to the hospital after the delivery. Everyone brought plenty of gifts, plenty excited to see the grandkids. While reaching her twilight years, Uzumi was still extremely healthy and eager to ogle her great-grandchildren. Hanako, Futaba and Sojiro were the only other people to visit in-person, as everyone else, especially Sakiya and Ryuji, were busy. 

In November, Suzaku Sakamato was born a healthy boy, kicking and screaming as he emerged into the world. Sakiya and Ryuji were both eager to show him off, and Shizuku was overjoyed to be a big sister like Yuki. Several weeks after Suzaku’s birth, the two families met, and both Yuki and Shizuku joyfully talked about how they both got to be big sisters. In the meantime, Sumire and Ren practiced the same techniques that they used while raising Yuki to help Kasumi and Akira grow and develop into healthy babies. Tummy time was mandatory, as was skin-to-skin contact and snuggling. Sumire taught Yuki how to properly hold the two, and Morgana watched closely to make sure everything was alright. Weeks turned into months as Yuki and Shizuku learned the ins-and-outs of being big sisters, and things would only get crazier as their little siblings began to make more noise and move more often.

* * *

_ December 2031, Past _

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” 

“Over here!”

Yuki giggled as she moved the small red toy in her hand in a clockwise circle in front of Kasumi.

“Ga!” Kasumi took a swipe at the toy, only to fall short of grabbing it.

“So close!”

“Aaap!” 

On Yuki’s right, Akira tugged at her dress, a wide smile on his little face. The twins were both growing healthily, and were still bald. Akira wore a yellow sweater, a color he shared with his “little bro” Suzaku, and Kasumi wore a red sweater. Both were rambunctious and eager to play whenever they were awake, and surprisingly enough, they shared sleeping patterns, much to Sumire, Ren and Morgana’s bliss. On her days off and after school, Yuki would spend her free time playing with the two, showcasing and utilizing the different toys at their disposal. Morgana was just as playful, and despite never saying it, Yuki could tell he had an excuse to be wild and fast as he danced around the twins. 

“This is a ball, Aki. It’s red.”

“Aaah!”

“How cute!” Sumire giggled as she snapped one, two, thee… multiple pictures of the kids and Morgana together. “You’re getting along with them so well, Yuki!”

“Mhm! Kasumi likes rattles while Aki likes squeaky toys!”

“And they both love story time!”

“Yup!”

“I’m home~”

A short distance away, Ren’s voice echoed into the house, causing the twins’ heads to perk up toward the noise. In a burst of excitement, Yuki jumped up and ran around the corner of the living room toward the door.

“You got Christmas decorations!”

“You bet I did.” Ren smirked as he pulled a Santa hat from a bag and placed it on Yuki’s head. 

“Welcome back!” Sumire joined Yuki at the front door, holding the twins in one arm each.

“We’ve got tinsel, ornaments, and a tree!”

“And sweaters!” Sumire kissed the twins foreheads, and the two curiously looked at their father.

“Look at you two!” 

“Ooooooooooooooooooah!” Kasumi babbled.

“Been keeping mama, Yuki and Mona busy, huh?”

“Aaaaaaaaa!” Akira reached out to his father.

“They really are talkative.”

With a smile, Ren set down the two bags he was holding and grabbed Akira from Sumire’s arms. 

“Who’s my little guy? You are!” 

“Aaoooo!”

“Do you want help with the tree papa?” Yuki eagerly looked up at Ren, clasping her hands together.

“Hm? Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve got help.”

“Helloooooooooo!~” As if on cue, Futaba opened the front door while holding the top of the tree over her shoulder. “Clear the way! This thing’s real itchy!”

As she marched into the house, Hanako came into view behind her, holding the end of the tree.

“Hello everyone!” 

“Hi.” Kenichi waved as he stepped in behind the two, his face instantly lighting up as he saw Yuki.

“Hello Futaba-obasan, Hanako-obasan, Kenichi-kun!” Yuki’s eyes sparkled as she watched them all enter, taking a few steps back alongside Ren and Sumire. 

“Hello Futaba, Hanako, Kenichi!” Sumire giggled as she watched them march into the living room with the tree.

“Where do you want ‘er cap’n?” Futaba closed one eye and looked at Ren.

“In the back left corner.”

“Aye aye.”

With ease, Hanako and Futaba set down the tree in the designated spot before walking over to the group.

“I love these sweaters, Sumire!” Hanako giggled as she held out her pinky toward Kasumi, who tried to grab it.

“Thank you! I knitted them all myself!”

“Kasumi and Akira just look so cute!”

“I know!”

“How have you been Morgana, Yuki?” Futaba smirked as she patted Yuki’s head with one hand and scratched Morgana’s ears with the other.

“Good!” Yuki smiled and nodded happily. “It’s almost Christmas and Santa is gonna get me a lot of presents for being a good big sister!”

“Oh I bet.”

With a subtle motion, Futaba looked toward Ren, who winked back at her. 

“I’ve been keeping the house under control. It’s tough work.” Morgana nonchalantly licked his paw.

“For any other cat it would be.”

“Exactly!”

“Hi Yuki-tan!” Kenichi walked up next to Futaba. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Kenichi-kun!”

“Santa’s gonna give all you good kids lots of presents this year!” Futaba planted her hands on both of their heads and ruffled their hair. “I bet Akira and Kasumi will get some good stuff!”

“Aaauuu!” Kasumi giggled as Sumire let Hanako hold her.

“Look at your little brown eyes! Who’s a little cutie?”

“Ahhhhh!”

“How have you been, Sumire? Have you gotten enough sleep lately?”

“I’ve been doing alright. This isn’t too different from when we used to practice.”

“Feels just like yesterday when we were all practicing our routines in the UTokyo Gym…” Hanako kissed Kasumi on the forehead and handed her back to Sumire. “You’ve come so far, Sumire.”

“ _ We have _ , Hanako. I hear some of your students are working their way to the World Championships.”

“Heheh…” Hanako slightly blushed. “I’m so proud of them all. I can share my love for rhythmic gymnastics with others who feel the same way as me. It’s not easy, but the girls all work hard and are proud to call me their coach.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world that knows both the rules and technicalities as well as you, Hanako.”

“While a lot of rules do change, the fundamentals always stay the same! I bet if I gave you a ribbon you’d be able to pull off one of your old routines!”

“I’ll pass, thank you.” Sumire smirked. “I don’t think my hips will allow me to pivot like I once could.”

“I’m sorry mama!” Ren spoke in a baby-like voice as he held Akira up in front of him. 

“I accomplished everything I set out to do, and I’m happy with where I am now.”

“This  _ was _ the plan the whole time, right?”

“Something like that!” 

“You’re returning to work in January, right, Ren-kun?” Hanako gave Ren a curious look.

“Hm? That’s the plan, yes.”

“Whaaaaat?” Yuki puffed her cheeks as she walked over to the three. “I want you to stay home papa!”

“I’m sorry, Yuki.” Ren adjusted his hold of Akira and reached out one hand to stroke her hair. “I have people that need my help, and I want to help them.”

“Like a Phantom Thief…?

“Yes, like a Phantom Thief.”

Yuki squinted as she internally struggled, her cheeks puffing to the point where they might burst if she pouted any longer. 

“Okay! You can go back!”

“Thank you.”

“Ooooooooah!” Akira grabbed at Ren’s chin hair, causing him to wince. 

“Ah! Hey!”

“Note to self, don’t let Akira near dad…” Futaba adjusted her glasses.

“What’s Sojiro up to anyway?” Ren blinked as he pulled himself away from Akira, who laughed.

“He said he wanted to get his old bones movin’ and offered to watch over Leblanc while we visited. Standard Sojiro stuff.”

“We’ll drag him over on Christmas. Leblanc should be closed anyway.”

“Mission accepted!”

“Are we going to decorate the tree?” Morgana eagerly looked up at Ren as he perched himself on Yuki’s shoulder.

“That’s the plan, yeah!”

“Ohhhh!”

“You’re not going to attack the ornaments again, are you kitty?”

“Quiet, Futaba! I wouldn’t do something so silly!”

“Oh really…?”

With a witches smile, Futaba pulled a shiny ornament out of the box Ren had set down.

“Go get it!”

“Mrow!”

Unable to control himself, Morgana leapt after the ornament, caught it between his paws, and began rolling around with it.

…

…

“Wait! Hey!”

“Mweheheheh.”

“Are Ryuji-ojisan and Sakiya-obasan coming, mama?” Yuki looked up at Sumire, who was ogling Kasumi.

“Unfortunately they’re staying home a bit longer.”

“Aww…”

“We can always video chat with them, though!”

“Really? Really? I wanna talk to Shizuku!”

“Mhm!”

“Here ya go.” Ren pulled out his phone and handed it to Yuki, who took it and started a video call with Ryuji.

“Yo! Oh, hey Yuki. What’s up?”

“We’re all decorating our Christmas tree, Ryuji-ojisan!”

“Oh yeah? We’re setting up our tree in a few days. Wanna help?”

“Yes please!”

“Alright! Do you wanna see Suzaku? Shizuku’s playing with him and Sakiya right now.”

“Please!”

“Yuki-chan!” 

“Hello, Yuki-chan.”

Yuki watched as Sakiya, who held Suzaku in a blanket, and Shizuku appeared as Ryuji turned his phone toward them.

“Ohhhh! You’re decorating, Yuki-chan?” Sakiya smirked as she heard several jingles.

“Mhm! Ryuji-ojisan said I could come help you decorate!”

“Yup! Sorry that I haven’t invited you all over. Little Suzaku here hasn’t let me sleep a wink.”

“I know how you feel!” Sumire giggled as she leaned down next to Yuki, handing off Kasumi to hanako, who happily took her. “You’ve only had your parents and Ryuji’s mother visit, right?”

“For now. I don’t know what’s different about Suzaku, but I still don’t feel like I’m at 100%. I’ll probably be fine in a few days, though.”

“You never were one to rest for long, Sakiya.”

“You know it.”

“Well hello there.” Futaba poked her head between Sumire and Yuki. “Y’know I heard that they’re testing out a new function for phones that would let you project a hologram of yourself during a call. It’ll be really handy for situations like this.”

“Like in all the sci-fi movies?” Ryuji scratched his head.

“Won’t be sci-fi for long.”

“Sounds cool.”

“Hi Sumire-obasan! Futaba-obasan!” Shizuku giggled and waved.

“Hello Shizuku-chan!”

“Yo, Shizuku-chan.”

“I wanna see!” Kenichi brushed up next to Yuki and stared at the phone.

“Well, now everyone is here.” Ren laughed as he heard everyone, as did Hanako. 

“What do you want for Christmas, Shizuku-chan?” Yuki’s eyes sparkled as she excitedly spoke.

“I want a Captain Kidd toy!”

“Oh oh! I want an Ella toy then!”

“I want a Nec… Necogobicon!” Kenichi added.

“Um…” The former Phantom Thieves swallowed nervously. 

“I want Santa to get me lots of clothes too!” Shizuku giggled.

“I want more flower dresses!” Yuki nodded in reply.

“Action figures!’

As the three kids got louder, Suzaku started to whine, and eventually cry.

“Uh oh! Sorry about that!” Ryuji nervously laughed. “Let’s say you come over on Shizuku’s birthday, yeah Yuki?”

“That’s a school day, Ryuji-ojisan…”

“Ah well you can come after! Gotta take care of Suzaku now! See you all later!”

“Bye bye!” Shizuku waved as she turned to look at Suzaku, with the call ending right after. Surprisingly, the twins didn’t react to the cries coming through the phone, with Hanako having distracted them both during it.

“Who wants smooches? You do!” Hanako giggled as she repeatedly kissed Kasumi, who cheered and giggled in return. “Can I take her home with me, Sumire?”

“No.”

“I’ll just have to visit more often, then!”

“I’d be happy to have you, Hanako!”

“Hm… Well with that all settled, let’s decorate this tree!” Ren triumphantly pointed at the box of decorations and ornaments, and the group went Christmas-crazy as they started to decorate the house. Sumire kept a close eye on Kasumi and Akira as they tried to get a hold of different ornaments, while Ren propped Yuki up on his shoulders so that she could place the star on top of the Christmas tree. Morgana sat atop Yuki’s shoulder as she did this, and the two managed to successfully set it down. While Hanako, Futaba, Kenichi and Yuki decorated the rest of the tree, Ren prepared curry for everyone. After they finished decorating the tree and setting up lights, Sumire went to breastfed the twins and let them fall asleep in their cribs. Once they were settled in, she left Morgana to watch them and joined the others to eat. Both Yuki and her ate several plates each, but this wasn’t new to Ren. Over the years he had mastered the portions necessary to feed both his daughter and wife, who ate at least three times that of any other person. He couldn’t and didn’t dare to ask or wonder why they had such big appetites, especially considering that Sumire had retired from rhythmic gymnastics, and Yuki never was one. 

Some things were never meant to have answers, though.

“I’ll have to create something that’ll outclass you one day, Ren!” Futaba slammed down her spoon with a blissful smile on her face. “But you win today! That was so good!”

“You are still but a student, and I am the master of curry, Futaba.”

“But I’m the daughter of the legend himself! Sojiro, the Boss! The Chief!”

“While that is true, you let your powers slumber for far too lo-”

“What are you doing papa, Futaba-obasan?” Yuki looked at them with complete confusion written all over her face.

“Ah-  _ ahem _ .” Ren cleared his throat. “You see Yuki, Futaba tends to act a bit  _ immature _ when we talk.”

“Hey! You started it!”

“Nope.” Ren crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Act like an adult, Ren.” Sumire sighed.

“I think it’s funny!” Hanako giggled. “Besides, being an adult just means balancing your responsibilities! I still feel like a kid whenever I think about rhythmic gymnastics!”

“It’s really fun when you play with me…” Kenichi slightly smiled. 

“Of course, Ken!” 

“You’re a little bundle of smiles, Ken!” Futaba smirked and ruffled his hair.

“So how is living with Futaba and Hanako, Kenichi-kun?” Ren scratched his chin, asking quizzingly. “All done adjusting?” 

“I love it!” Kenichi excitedly nodded. “We play, eat good food, and I get to listen to stories about the Phantom Thieves!”

“Yeah, we are pretty awesome.”

“Futaba tells me all about the times she’s saved you when you got trapped or beat up!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?” Ren raised his eyebrows and leaned back as he turned toward Futaba.

“Final Guard!” Futaba posed.

“Uh-huh. I see.”

“She also told me about how you and Sumire-basan liked to kiss and cuddle during super important missions and stuff!”

“Oh?” Ren tilted his head.

“W-Well…” Sumire blushed and stroked her hair.

“Ehehe… Heheh…” Futaba nervously gulped.

“Well, Kenichi-kun…” Ren leaned forward and crossed his hands on the table. “Has Futaba ever told you she’s fallen asleep during a heist? Sometimes I’d call for her, “Oracle! Oracle I need backup!” and what do I hear? Snoring.”

“H-Hey! I-It’s not my fault you decided to have us go in right after a big event in the MMO I was playing!”

“You knew that I might need you all to go in at any time. Sumire was always prepared, right honey?” Ren winked.

“Yes!” Sumire smiled and nodded.

“Ugh… You made me look lame in front of my kid… It’s all over…” Futaba planted her face on the table.

“I-I don’t think you’re lame, Futaba!”

“Ken…”

“I agree with Kenichi!” Hanako pumped a fist. 

“Mona is the coolest Phantom Thief!” Yuki raised her hand.

“Exactly!” Morgana nodded. “At least someone here has their wits about them.”

“That’s just years of indoctrination!” Futaba cried out.

“It’s not indoctrination if it’s the truth!”

In unison, Morgana and Yuki spoke.

"A man who saves those in trouble in the west, while punishing evildoers who may lurk in the east! A man who chastises people that smoke inside in the south, while saving bullied cats in the north. A man who has a sturdy body and vows to do one good deed a day, be it rain or shine! Morgana!”

“Ohhhhh! So cool!” Kenichi stared in awe. 

“So cute!” Hanako clapped.

“Ahhh… I love you both so much.” Ren chuckled and rubbed his eyes. 

“I’m happy you both have bonded so much.” Sumire nodded.

“I wish I could talk to Mona…” Kenichi frowned. “All I heard was meowing.”

“If you believe he can talk, then you might just be able to hear him.” Ren tapped the side of his head. 

“But he’s a cat…”

“He’s not just a cat!” Yuki stuck out her tongue. “He’s Morgana!”

“Cognition, son!” Futaba crossed her arms.

“I don’t get it…”

“It’s okay, Kenichi!” Hanako pulled him close, hugging him. “I know Morgana-chan loves us!”

“Hanako!” Morgana cried out. “Thank you!”

“He really does love you!” Yuki nodded. 

“D’aww! Come here, Morgana-chan!” Hanako opened her arms, prompting Morgana to hop down under the table and jump up into her lap.

“Mrow!”

“I’d bring Mona to school if I had him.” Kenichi smiled and scratched his ears. 

“So cute…” Futaba clenched her chest. “Not gonna… make it…”

“Sometimes I swear you haven’t grown up at all, Futaba…”

“ _ You’re _ saying that, Ren? I don’t tease my wife every free chance I get!”

“That’s because she teases you!”

“H-Hey!”

“My my…” Sumire smirked and covered her mouth.

Holding Morgana in her arms, Hanako stood up and gave both Ren and Sumire a nod. “We should get going. Thank you for the food, Ren!” 

“Aw darn…” Futaba pouted. “I wish we could stay a bit longer, but if we leave dad alone for too long I’m afraid he’ll run off…”

“Sojiro’s not  _ that _ old!” Ren threw his hands in the air.

“Mweheheh… I’m just kidding.”

“Thanks for the food!” Kenichi stood up and bowed. “I’d really like to hang out again!”

“It’s going to be winter break soon!” Yuki stood up. “We can hang out every day!”

“Yeah!”

“Oh, um, Hanako-obasan…” Yuki walked up to her aunt-figure, “Can I have Mona back please?”

“Of course!”

“We’ll see you all on Shizuku’s birthday!” Futaba grinned and held her thumb up. “It’s time for us to make like a family of hedgehogs and roll out!”

“Goodbye Futaba-obasan, Hanako-obasan, Kenichi-kun!” Yuki waved as she scooped up Morgana in one arm.

“See you all next week.” Ren nodded.

“Tell the Chief I said hi!” Morgana excitedly meowed.

“Of course!” Futaba adjusted her glasses.

“Bye Yuki-tan, Sumire-basan, Ren-ojisan.”

“I’ll see you all soon!” Sumire stood up and encompassed the three in a hug. 

The Sakura family made their way out of the Amamiya household after an extended series of goodbyes, leaving the family with a feeling of bliss.    
“It’s getting pretty late…” Ren rotated his head in a circle. “Want to hear a bedtime story, Yuki?”

“Yes please!” Yuki hopped up and down excitedly.

“We should tell her about some more of my exploits!” Morgana laughed triumphantly.

“I’m sure she already knows about them all…”

“I want to tell her a story about Hanako, Sakiya and I!” Sumire giggled.

“Okay mama!”

“We all have to keep an ear out for Kasumi and Akira, okay?”

“Mhm!” 

“I got you covered, Sumire.” Morgana hopped onto the floor. “I can hear even the faintest squeak of a mou- What’s that?” 

“It’s just a dec-”

Before they knew it, Morgana had darted into the living room and started playing with an ornament.

“Can we go see Aki and Kasumi, mama?” Yuki gave Sumire a pleading look.

“Of course!”

Scooping Yuki up in her arms, Sumire walked with Ren into their bedroom, where two cribs sat side-by-side next to their bed. Both were simple white cribs with an assortment of space-themed toys overhanging on a rotatable arm.

“They’re so small…”

“You were small too, Yuki. Real small.” Ren scratched his chin. “Just look at your baby pictures.”

“Um… Am I a good big sister mama, papa?” Yuki frowned as she looked down at the sleeping babies.

“Of course you are.” Ren lightly chuckled. “You’re only going to become a better one as they grow more and more.”

“It’s just as papa says, Yuki!” Sumire kissed her on the cheek. “You’re doing great!”

“Mmmm… Thanks mama… papa…”

After a few more seconds passed, Ren and Sumire heard a light snore escape Yuki’s mouth.

“Welp. Guess she really tuckered herself out today.” Ren shrugged.

“Being a good big sister is hard work.”

“I’m proud of her.”

“So am I, Ren. Our little girl has grown so fast…”

“And they’re all only going to grow more, so I hope you’re ready.”

“I’ve been ready.”

“Heh. I should be free to join you two at Shizuku’s birthday party.”

“Good…”

“For now though, we should also get some rest.”

“Mhm.” Sumire turned around and brought Yuki to her room before coming back. “Let’s sleep while we can.”

* * *

_ Present _

“How did you know what mama and papa talked about after you fell asleep onee-chan?” Kasumi furrowed her eyebrows, giving her sister a curious glance.

“They told me the next day.”

“This is really impressive, Yuki!” Sumire clapped. “This is turning into a novel!”

“I-It’s not a novel…” 

“I’m happy that you’re so passionate about this, regardless!”

“It’s really nice to listen as Morgana narrates our past.” Ren laughed. “I forgot a lot of these little moments.”

“Keep going, onee-chan!” Akira bounced on the bed.

“Sure thing. We’ll pick back up with Shizuku’s birthday party on December 18th!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A DeathKnight Production.
> 
> It's been a hot minute, hasn't it? The past few weeks have been a rollercoaster for me in regards to what I want to do as an author, and, with some help and a lot of discussing, I've come to the conclusion that this story will indeed be much slower. That's okay, though. My desire to write Lotus, Violet and Cherry Blossoms was fueled by a passion that I don't think I can quite get back.   
> I realized I needed to stop chasing it, because ultimately, I accomplished my goal. I can take this chance to try writing some one-shots, expand my vocabulary, and stuff like that. 
> 
> This story will be slow-going and simple, and I will likely never "finish," but there isn't a foreseeable goal in reach, so I think that's okay. Exploring the family shenanigans is something I'll do in shorter chapters and bursts of inspiration/motivation. It's a new form of writing I just have to accept is reality. 
> 
> I have some other things in mind that I might dip my toes in, like a Phantom Thieves DND game. That'd be fun. 
> 
> Also, played Strikers. Good game. Sophia is protecc, Zenkichi is dad. It's a shame Sumire wasn't there, but for what it was? Damn good game. I'm not going to retcon it into LVCB, since ultimately it'd only contribute in saying "it happened."   
> I do want to include Sophia somehow, but it's something I'll have to think about. 
> 
> In any case, that's the way it is. I still love this, but I definitely can afford to give myself some space from it. Ren and Sumire accomplished their dream, and that was my mission in the first place. So, reader, thank you. I'll be around, but I won't be gung-ho about writing like I was. All good things must come to an end, else we'd all end up in the ideal reality, or something.


End file.
